Drivers fueling traffic trouble, say police
(CNS): Police who have been conducting traffic diversions during the morning and evening commute to and from the Eastern Districts said they have spotted a significant amount of poor and unsafe driving, which is fuelling traffic congestion. Police issued 330 speeding tickets in October and have caught drivers failing to pay attention to the road, often because they are on their phones, as officers try to keep the traffic moving.
But speeding continues to be a major concern for the RCIPS traffic unit, the police said in a general press release about the traffic troubles.
Despite the constant warnings being issued, it remains one of the most common traffic violations and, more importantly, the leading cause of crashes and road fatalities in Cayman. Officers once again implored drivers to stick to the speed limits.
Of the 330 tickets issued, around 60 were for speeds exceeding 60mph, earning those drivers fines of at least $400 each. But police are concerned about the excessive speeds they have been clocking in school zones, especially around Red Bay and Savannah primary schools. During the designated times of drop off and pick up (7- 9am and 2-4pm, Monday to Friday) the speed limit in the marked areas is 15mph.
The penalty for breaching school zone speed limits when they are in effect is $40 per mile over the speed limit, which is double the usual fine of $20. If a driver is caught doing double the speed limit of the area, they can be prosecuted in court and could lose their licence in addition to a fine.
Ten drivers were disqualified over the last year as a result of speeding in a school zone. But police have warned another 100 drivers since January who were also caught that they, too, could lose their licence.
While speeding remains a significant problem for police, officers are also concerned that even though they have issued many warnings, drivers are still carrying passengers in the back of pickup trucks.
Officers said they see this infraction regularly but it is extremely dangerous because passengers have no way of securing themselves in the event of a collision. Drivers of these vehicles will be ticketed for driving a vehicle with an unsecured load or passenger at a value of $100, officers warned.
Along with the deliberate and dangerous infractions on the roads, police are seeing a lot of carelessness and inattention, they said, which is making the traffic congestion worse, as well as presenting a danger to other road users.
Officers said a lack of attention from drivers has caused increased build-up of traffic during the rush hours. The drivers are more often than not distracted by their cell phones. Using a phone while driving is an offense, which carries a $150 fine, but if a driver using their phone causes a crash they can be charged with careless driving or other offenses.
Officers said that during the morning and evening commute they have noticed that drivers using the roundabouts are not indicating to the lane they wish to exit, which causes a build-up of traffic to occur. Failing to indicate is an offense which carries a traffic fine of $100.
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Category: Crime, Local News, Police
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And another day in traffic bullshit. A wreck at Hurleys backed up traffic so bad it took an hour to move 3 cars forward. Absolutely ridiculous there is no reason for this except for the fact that traffic laws have not been enforced so everyone and their grandma has a car and is driving on the road at the same time. Why are kids going to school at 8 AM why does school not start at 9:30? Poor children who live all the way east and travel in for hours at a time not getting proper rest proper nutrition or having time to chill out before going to a hectic day at a poorly rated school.
School needs to start before parents start work. You planning on opening businesses at 10? What time you planning on closing?
Buses?
I agree with you, unfortunately school starts at 8 a.m. because work starts at 8.30 a.m. for most. As an insomniac I hope that changes before sleeping pills kill me, but I don’t see any sign of that coming in the pipeline.
For 20-30 years there was gridlock traffic from West Bay all the way down into town. The double lane bypass was what alleviated that. We need fewer cars all going to the same places, or more lanes when moving around 67,000 people.
75,000 people. The ESO statistics do not count TWP holders and whole other categories.
The mess this oversea territory got itself in is mind boggling . I mean, seriously, everything seems to be rotten to its core. From “air circulation” issues in immigration building, whatever it is, to the broken trash compactor, from cops violating the very rules they “try” to enforce to politicians in breach of trust. I am not even talking about wide spread corruption as Mr.Legge had rightfully pointed out in 2015.
Absence of vision, strategies and common sense. Incompetence on all levels. Non existent law enforcement. Children leave schools not prepared to succeed in a technologically advanced society. Environment is destroyed. Drowning in waste. Contempt for constituents..
The territory would never get itself out of this $hit unless mother England intervenes. It simply can’t.
19 USD from the airport to the public library. By Taxi.
I am so effin fed up with traffic on this island. I live in Prospect and I shouldn’t sit on my rd for 30 mins and another 30 on shamrock just to get to the roundabout. STOP TRAFFIC FROM THE EAST ON SHAMROCK RD. BUILD AN OVERPASS AT HURLEYS. ENFORCE TRAFFIC LAWS. I hate typing in caps but wtf do we do at this point?
Overpass won’t work well as it will feed more cars to kings sport roundabout.
Police drivers are shocking as well in fairness, I was behind one of those overpriced unnecessary SUVs the driver didn’t signal at a junction. I eventually ended up side by side with the police and shouted to him why aren’t you signaling – he looked at me as if I was speaking a different language clueless.
their arrogance and ignorance is beyond belief
You weren’t speaking Patois.
This is news to who? Not to those of us who have to endure the idiots on the road everyday from tailgating, blowing behind you when you are trying to enter the roundabout safely – while watching idiots who do not use trafficators to show which way they are going, overtaking when its not safe. I have had to pull off the road so many times to avoid a head on collision from a car coming from the opposite direction on my side of the road. Its crazy. You have to drive for yourself and try to guess what some of the idiots around you are going to do.
They are also the ones most likely to have blacked out windows.
That the Police it seems are incapable of seeing.
No-one mentioning the real problem too many cars. The Police themselves contribute to this as the JA officers regularly bring in cars to sell thereby competing with legitimate Car dealers without all the hassle of actually having a T&B license or any overhead expenses. Limit importation & get some of the junk off our roads will be a good start. BTW why is the Gov owned Smith Rd oval now a second hand car lot?
Brilliant hahaha. Yes, the issue is jamaican cops selling cars.
Legitimate??? There’s nobody here I’d class as legitimate car dealers. 30 day warranty??? Gtfo
I brought my own from Japan and saved about 4k.
so how is only buying cars from you going to mean less cars on the road?! It just means YOU sell more cars! Greed knows no bounds.
I brought my own car. My own. I bought a single car, for me. I’m not a dealer. Though, if I was, I wouldn’t be charging the ridiculous prices with crappy service you get here.
Get the jamaicans and most caymanians off the road and all problems are solved.
STFU! I see loads of other expats committing traffic offenses.
The ones that do most of the shocking driving are the ones that have that “white privilege syndrome”. Sundays after champagne brunch is when the riff raff come out.
Sure.
Jamaicans ARE EXPATS as well 😉
Actually, many of them are Caymanian now!
While I don’t condone the comment you were commenting on at all, I must respectfully disagree with you. The Sunday brunch crowd aside, the worst cases of insane driving that I have witnessed Monday through Saturday are almost all Caymanians, including: turning right on a roundabout because the driver was too lazy to go all the way around (I’ve seen this twice!), using the middle turning lane to bypass the line-up of cars and then cutting in at the front (happens every week night between the Butterfield Roundabout and the light at the intersection of Shedden Road and Sound Road. Although Jamaican construction workers in trucks are also often guilty of this offence, I have NEVER seen a white expat do it), tailgating and zigzag lane changing, and other obnoxious driving.
Yep. White privilege syndrome tieing up all the traffic from East during the working week, from all those rich white people living out there.
Really! Where are you from?
Hah hah hah! You can keep writing your comments until hell freezes over. They can continue widening roads until it would be literally inches from houses and road shoulders stop to exist. They can continue adding roundabouts, traffic lights, block roads, unblock roads, talk about flex time, car imports restriction, car ownership restriction and other BS……..nothing will change until 2 things happens: public bus system is up and running like a clock and overpasses at bottlenecks are built. It would take, based on how things are done here, at least 3 years. Public bus system not even remotely in the picture yet. Just think how many jobs it would create: bus drivers, dispatchers, mechanics, tickets sales etc. etc. But you have to start now, today. Future Bus drivers, mechanics and other personnel should be already working on certification, overseas of course, then getting experience, overseas of course. The entire world has figured this out like two centuries ago. Only in Cayman they continue widening roads to nowhere.
We do not need employment for more Jamaicans. That one nationality dominates public transport. Break that monopoly and have more Caymanians benefitting, and you will have a viable argument.
Then get some drivers that can actually drive.
They have them in the Philippines, India, the United States, Canada, Spain, and Barbados.
Why are persons from those jurisdictions not employed driving busses, if a Caymanian cannot be found? Serious question.
You’re probably the only person with sense in this comment section.
Incompetent and inadequate policing is one of the main contributors to traffic woes. No one indicates (if they did, traffic would flow more easily). Simply removing cars without licensing, insurance and illegal tint from circulation would free up the roads for law abiding users.
I have never seen a police car driver use his indicators
They don’t purchase that option, saves a few dollars.
Completely misses the point. Drivers are reacting out of frustration with the situation. The situation results from a failure to plan and have a strategy for infrastructure/roads/planning in this country.
When the RCIPS start leading by example & then get out on the road & issue tickets, put a hold on the importation of cars by cowboy operations, take dangerous cars off the road, nothing will change. Speeding is the least of the infractions. If I can count 20+ drivers texting, chatting on their mobiles, not indicating, brake lights not working, putting on makeup, children jumping up & down with no seatbelts, exhausts spewing noxious smoke, outdated road tax, blocking exit/entrances on roundabouts, gaps of at least 3 cars in a line of slow moving traffic causing even more back up etc, etc in a simple 20 minute commute surely the RCIPS can too?!
Do you really expect these officers to really get out of their cars?
This is the first government in the history of politics to lose an election because of Traffic. You don’t think I am going to remember sitting in traffic for 3 hours a day when I go to the polls? Think again. You are OUT! schools, dock, dump, no this is my time and money.
And when the government makes moves to alleviate the traffic unnu complain. Can’t please all yuh at all
It will probably take you 5hrs+ to get to the polls on Elections Day.
The Traffic on Grand Cayman is out of control. The government needs to stop issuing building permits and start making part of that process include fees for infrastructure on large developments. Last night alone it took 15 minutes to go from Foster airport to the new roundabout and it was pure chaos all around. I could see the traffic backed up all over Crewe Road and about. the helicopter was up, I would be curious to see a photo from that during rush hour, it must look insane. in the new roundabout, thee was no order at all, it was mayhem. People were blocking trough traffic and just kept driving into the roundabout so no one could travel through onto the second and third exits. One person finally just took their pretty new Audi and block the flow of traffic which allowed those not going towards Crewe road to drive through and get on their way. One idiot Just drove in the new close off section on the outer lane, and I happily just drove in front of him to get through. this is becoming the wild west for traffic and driving, no #Caymankind exists on the roads any more, well done CIG, enjoy your last terms in power you have failed the people.
Stop importation of japanese cars. Every person is bringing them in and increasing the chaos. Government is happily collecting revenue. Are they concerned about the Caymanians
?
I know most people cannot afford a brand new vehicle. So no, they will not stop the import of Japanese Vehicles.
This blocking of roundabouts and exits is very common in Cayman. Nobody seems to know that they are not supposed to block exits in standing traffic. This is a major contribution to our traffic woes.
Roundabouts are not a solution, they are a nightmare. Stop building any more roundabouts and get rid of the ones already there!!
Do you job RCIP and we wouldn’t have Poor and Unsafe driving in the first place.
The police should be targeting the rampant bad driving. Targeting drivers doing 52mph on the Esterly Tibbets Highway, which is now a safe dual carriageway and should be upgraded to a 50mph limit, is lazy policing.
I was doing 60 down there a little while ago and was overtaken easily by an old lady in a Honda Fit
Maybe if using your mobile whilst driving was an endorsable offence rather than just a fine (as in the UK) we might see a difference. 6 points and 200 pound is the current penalty. Twice caught and you are disqualified. Then RCIPS could conduct a campaign to catch disqualified drivers. Might keep some of the nutters off the road for longer.
It’s about time the police recognize the speeding problems in this area, but guess why they know now ???!!!! It’s because the police have not been monitoring this area!!! Please also need to monitor the area of Shammrock Road from Spotts Newlands to the Tomlinson roundabout. Not only for speeding, but also passing on the double yellow lines!!!!
A couple of ways speeding causes congestion.
1. Cars speeding tend to crash more, and crash harder. The accident then causes a blockage/gawking which slows everyone down.
2. If a car is speeding up behind me, I’ll slow right down, particularly if they’re tailgating too.
Fair on point one if there is an accident but on point two, that’s on you slowing down causing congestion.
You shouldn’t slow down, keep the speed limit. You are one of the problems on the road. Tailgating is annoying, but in now way does being petty and slowing down help the situation.
2. Maybe just pull into the left hand lane and let them passed.
too many cars just sit in the right hand lane on the by-passes leading to constant undertaking.
Most of the people on the road in the morning are clearly not fully awake. In the evenings they are clearly very tired.
When you get up at 5, sit 2 hrs in traffic, spend 9 hrs at work and then sit another 2-3 hrs in traffic every day you would be exhausted too.
Living the dream!
TBH, decades of RCIPS contemptuous inaction “in the field” is what fuels our road troubles, opportunistic crime, burglaries, wheelying anarchists, and reduces crimes-in-progress response times to 20 plus minute intervals. Time to leave the dominoes clubhouse in one of those shiny new vehicles we keep buying…preferably sober, and get on the habit of actually ticketing as a tried and true method of detrimental enforcement.
Why let facts get in the way of your narrative?
Take one for example. The wheelying idiots. Have a look on YouTube, this phenomenon of boys, as well as older men who are still waiting for their balls to drop, is going on everywhere. The real failure is from the lawmakers who haven’t provided law enforcement with laws that could fix the issue. Importation regulations, impounding and destroying bikes etc.
I would like to ask the police what about these bicycles with motors on them? They have no insurance nor license and as far as I’m aware they are breaking the law. But you see the police crossing them and doing absolutely nothing. Also the dirt bikes on the road is still riding illegal and I have seen the police crossing them and doingabsolutely nothing. As for using phones whilst driving, they are as guilty as sin in doing that. Also I’ve seen them on occasions using lights and sieren just to pull into a fast food joint. Are they above the law or does the law apply to them. I really don’t see any improvements in the road block/diversions that they are conducting in the evenings. It is a bigger mess if you ask me.
Lights and siren, then pull into a fast food joint. Really? Please say when this occurred. I assume you reported it as well? If not, hush.
Police have an exemption from the cell phone usage in law. It may not be policy, but it is in the traffic law.
Idiots on motorbikes. What’s your suggestion for the fixing of this issue for the regular frontline officers? Remember, it cannot involve them falling off their bikes.
Electric bicycles, see above. Also, lawmakers need to update laws to reflect the electric revolution. For the police, I’m guessing they’re low down the priority list. As this article is about traffic too, I wouldn’t mention it, as electric bikes are one way of reducing gridlock.
No improvements? Since the police have been out, there has been a slight decrease in my commute time, from rest to west. Not a lot, but it has got a little better.
Our Traffic Regulations are from 2012, and the police are only interested in maybe three or four offense types. Adding add’l regs won’t change a “do what you like” ticketing culture, punctuated by sporadic annual PR campaigns against isolated offenses like DUIs, and speeders. Enforcement only comes when there is a new Gov/CoP installed that mandates minimum performance standards to the RCIPS.
I would also like them to recognize the number of vehicles being driven with no insurance or registration.
…and unlicensed drivers who stop at roundabouts like they are stop signs.
The Police need to get out of the road, let the drivers drive on the road. Stop closing lanes and stop adding to the traffic by making residents living on Crewe Road go down the highway and have to come back up Crewe Road in traffic. How is that helping??? Get out of the road and monitor bad drivers and ticket them for not using the road properly or using phones while driving especially at junctions.
the police farce and their lack of enforcement of traffic code is the cause of poor driving standards in cayman. end of story.
people will drive bad if they can get away with it.
The officers directing traffic at the Red Bay roundabout in the morning are outright dangerous – twice now I have seen officers signalling a vehicle to enter the roundabout on direct collision course with one already on the roundabout and attempting to exit – this morning, it was only by an emergency stop by one of the vehicles that there wasn’t a serious collision caused by pure police incompetence.
Drivers are causing traffic? Who woulda thunk it? Thanks Joey!
First of all, who are the police to criticise other drivers? Most policemen or women couldn’t pass a driving test in first world country. Overtaking on a solid white line; speeding; failing to signal; using the wrong lane on a roundabout; these are common daily ‘offenses’ committed by police vehicles, presumably there are actually drivers in them but you can’t be sure because most have tint darker than the legal specification.
Why are they complaining about speeders, and in the same breath discussing traffic congestion? That is an oxymoron. Does anyone really believe that having police officers standing in the road purporting to direct traffic is actually helping the flow?
Except the police are dead right and you’re just whining.
Agreed, I actually seem it first hand Friday morning at the Lantern point roundabout where the officer was standing on the shoulder just watching the traffic.
This is probably the same one with an attitude that almost smashed my car window some mornings ago at the same location to tell me to put my phone down and didn’t have the manners to apologize when he realized it was a coffee cup. Told me to hurry and move along. And sometimes they wonder why we have to shake our heads at some of them.
I don’t understand…please explain how speeding is causing congestion/traffic? Not saying that speeding should be given a pass. I just don’t see the correlation.
Honestly, how do so-called “speeders” elude the RCIPS or create the gridlock meters ahead?!? You can’t make this stuff up.
Complainers in chief out in force.
“Despite the constant warnings being issued”. Who is instructing officers to only issue warnings?!? That’s the problem right there. The public are fed up with the sustained inaction and sporadic performances from an RCIPS, who rarely show up. Ticketing is the enforcement standard we have been screaming for. Listen and Act.
Get real 6:07. I suppose you are some sort of super person who would be happy to pay a 200 dollar fine for only slowing down to 20mph coming towards Savannah. Or would you rather get a warning and slow down to 15 in the future?
You get real
Yes, all licensed drivers would welcome a traffic department that fines offenses as laid out in the Traffic Regulations. It’s only the many unlicensed, uninsured drivers that would oppose a normal level of routine enforcement we are already paying for – the same drivers that stop at roundabouts like they are four-way stop signs, and back up traffic for 8 miles. Yes, clear them off the road please!
I always stop i when I’m in the roundabouts to let persons in. I believe it’s showing a touch of kindness to the drivers that are waiting so patiently to enter. If only we could all showe our mutual respect to each other like this. smh
If you were in the correct lane on the roundabout you would not feel it necessary to stop to let someone in.
You are NOT supposed to stop in a round about to let anyone in. That is the problem!!!!!