Traffic remains key issue for cops
(CNS): Poor behaviour by drivers as well as the amount of traffic on the roads that is fuelling the Cayman Islands’ high per capita crash rate will continue to be major issues for the police, senior RCIPS officers said at a press briefing Wednesday, when the annual statistics for road collisions, offences and fatalities in 2020 were released. As the country was in full or partial lockdown from the last week of March until July, road collisions decreased by almost 23%, but nine people lost their lives on the roads, the same number as in 2019. There were 2,166 reported crashes and nearly 4,000 speeding tickets were issued.
Police Commissioner Derek Byrne said that while the COVID-19 restrictions did decrease crashes and offences compared to 2019, the figures are on the rise again in 2021. He said the loss of nine lives “was a serious situation”, and this year three people have died so far.
Speeding and drunk drivers are also major concerns, Byrne noted. According to the figures, there were 228 summons issued for Driving Under the Influence, which is only 16.2% less than in 2019, when there were 272 DUIs, despite the lockdown and the dramatic reduction of drivers on the road for more than four months, especially at night.
The commissioner spoke of the need to raise awareness about “driver behaviour, which is pretty erratic”, and singled out drivers of large trucks as a particular concern. He said this would continue to be a focus for the RCIPS through 2021 and that officers on overtime would be deployed over holiday weekends, when the DUI situation was at its worse after drivers had indulged in drinking “sessions”.
Superintendent Brad Ebanks said that reducing road fatalities was one of the things he would be working on to try to prevent more deaths on the roads this year. “If we can remain at three that would be an accomplishment for us, and road safety is a high priority,” he said.
The police issued a total of 7,651 traffic tickets across all three islands in 2020, which was just 199 less than had been dispatched to drivers the year before when there was no lockdown. More than half these tickets (3,997) were for speeding, and although 50mph is the maximum speed limit anywhere in Cayman, 67 tickets were given out to drivers clocking 70mph or more.
In one case a driver was caught doing 75mph on Willie Farrington Drive in West Bay, which has a 25mph maximum speed limit. Two other drivers were caught doing over 90mph on the West Bay end of the Esterley Tibbetts Highway.
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4,000 speeding tickets in 2020. In my modest estimate we have more than 4,000 motorists speeding every day!.Perhaps the police underestimate the problem as whilst they are out patrolling the roads they only see drivers who are carefully obeying the limits – this of course has nothing to do with the presence of the patrol car.
Lol “road safety is a high priority”. Like, sure… but it’s on us now cause we keep believing the BS with every press release.
Ok. Im no expert, but here goes.
There are so many things we see daily that should be dealt with.
First being roundabout ethics. I have seen so many close calls daily in the roundabout at AL Thompson. Its a gamble to go through it. Godfrey Nixon way is always jammed up. Mostly caused by people letting people in at the swamp exit. Why is there no boarder in that area. Make a large line of permanent pilons there and traffic will flow. No right turn into the swamp. No right turn out of the swamp. They can use the exit by britcay.
Second. Why is there no slower traffic keep left signs here. The traffic flow is terrible. You get a guy in a rusted out kia flat bed truck with 4 million branches in the left lane holding up traffic. Move over.
Third. Indicators. Nuf said.
Fourth. Why is it not finished being double laned where the Lindford Pierson meets bobby thompson? Why? Thats ridiculous at this point.
Fifth school zones. Oh my God. Why are they on these main feeder roads? I feel its mostly because if you turn in behind any of the main feeder roads your in a neighborhood thats run down and no one wants a gentrification of any areas.
Sixth. Public transportation stops at 12:00 bars at 1:00 +. See a problem here?
I think i could go on and on.
I hope this new government will pick up its socks and get on with changes for the better.
But im no expert.
Why is it that I really only see Police enforcing traffic laws with any sort of regularity in West Bay, and nowhere else?
I rarely see it in George Town, Prospect or Bodden Town unless it’s a speed trap in the same 2 or 3 places they’re always at.
I see Police stopping cars and writing tickets in West Bay quite often. Does the Commander in West Bay make it more of a priority?
You have no constant police Enforcment, I drive for work. And I see cops everyday on the phone eating etc . Everything except paying attention or enforcing the traffic laws……besides that half of them have no clue what the laws are …. it seems like they just make something up .
Yesterday there was an accident by CNB roundabout 3 police car attended … not one of the 5 officers directed traffic ……. all of them want to carry a gun look good but nothing else there is no common sense there is no knowledge ….. nothing but security guards in a different uniform .
Let me not even start about them not being able to spell write or add …….but I tout the the new Government is gonna make any changes ….. just look at the school system back to the same old idiotic show !,
You saw police officers displaying open carry of firearms?
Actually, what is needed is a requirement for the car owner to furnish the details of the driver at the time of the offence within 14 days. When they don’t the law infers it was them and they get the fine.
I drive to dinner, have a few drinks, eat, talk with friends, go home, no problem. Apparently it is not allowed for RCIPS to park outside of bars at closing. This is the danger zone, when people are making the choice of driving impaired or not. Most people don’t hit it so hard that they can’t safely function.
I think policy should be changed. I think officers should wait outside bars, ALL bars at closing and watch for intoxicated folk. Maybe even give them an opportunity to turn over their keys and get a ride home. I won’t drive at those times, having had too many close calls with erratic drivers.
We are indeed in paradise if the police major challenge is traffic offenders.
They may choose to characterise it as ‘traffic offenders’, but what I see are potentially life-threatening behaviours.
I hardly ever see police on the road and when I do most of them aren’t indicating or are on their phones so what do we expect?
I see them parked in my apartment complex all day.
Speed cameras seem like a no brainer. Serious question, why don’t we have them?
Basically, the database is terrible. Owner details are either out of date, or don’t exist in many cases. The postal service is crappy too.
Certainly anyone who thinks they are a good idea has no brain.
Speed cameras seem like a no brainer. Serious question, why don’t we have them?
Horrible idea. In most countries (I doubt data available here) speed is only a factor in 7% of crashes. Dumbing down driving to compliance with an arbitrary number is counter productive; proper driver training and proper testing is required not watching you don’t creep over a number.
It works very well in UAE. We bill our little island as world class, so why do we not adopt world class technology? Maybe it’s because cameras are impartial and might catch too many important individuals driving dangerously under the influence?
WOW! Complete BS. UAE issued 9 million fines and had almost 500 deaths and 4000 injuries last year!
Population
Obviously. And their per capita Road deaths are over double the UK with 9m tickets issued to a population of 9m! It’s a terrible example.
Fox much?
If you’re trying to imply the poster is ill informed you should probably do a tiny bit of research first…
https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.thenationalnews.com/uae/transport/uae-road-deaths-lowest-in-almost-a-decade-as-drivers-hit-with-8-million-fines-1.1045642
It’s not hard to spot the drivers with joke licenses; they dislike the suggestion of proper driver training.
It would help if the police cars indicated and drove properly… every day I see them driving poorly and not obeying the laws of the road
5:37 you are right, also if they would dim their lights for incoming vehicles would be a big help. But they feel they din’t need to obey the rules. Sad.
Only about half the police cars I see are driving normally. The rest are fastidiously observing the speed limit in an unnatural way that draws obvious attention to it, or speeding 10 mph like everyone else, not indicating or using roundabouts properly, pulling off the road very slowly, etc. You have to wonder if they are taught to drive any better than they already know when they get the job. It would appear not so we end up with police who can’t drive better than the drivers they’re supposed to ticket. No wonder they don’t.
Government must act to resolve the traffic issues now! Ministers couldn’t care less since they don’t have to drive to and from work at peak times! We don’t have life anymore from spends so much time in traffic!
Classic roundabout photo.
The whole system is unworkable and broken. It cannot get better until wholesale changes are made, this includes:
DVDL, licensing and inspection regime needs to change. Their database needs to be accurate.
Police, training of their drivers to a standard better than Kingston on a Saturday night.
MPs, change the antiquated laws and penalties.
Drivers, they need to stop being morons in many cases.
NRA, CUC etc. Need to improve the roads and policy on how to use traffic cones. A warning sign at the start of the works and 3 traffic cones are not sufficient when closing a lane of 40mph traffic.
Public opinion on DUI needs to change. Too many people here see it as their right.
Etc etc etc…
Need traffic lights, not stupid round abouts, let the U K have that , we dont want round abouts
Negative. You need to learn to use them. They’re simple and literally proven to be the most efficient way of getting traffic to flow.
User error is usually the cause of crashes on them.
Also, the lights at the cricket pitch. You seen how many crashes occur there, and at the lights by the compass???
The only thing stupid about roundabouts are the people incapable of using them.
Make you feel a bit dizzy do they? I get it, they’re really difficult to navigate after a few.
Not gonna happen unless the UK takes over. Otherwise
What we have here will never change. Morons will always be and act like morons. Expect traffic and accidents to just get worst while you waste your time complaining and if you think it’s bad now, wait until Cayman reopens and all the skill, tourist, and people with money to spend return.
Delusional. The standard of driving here is so poor due to Mickey Mouse training and licensing that I have zero doubt most visitors bring the standards up.
The 3 cones has almost caused so many accidents, you can’t close a lane with such short notice.
Pretty much every time I am out I see the following:
– Lack of indicating.
– Speeding (or cars driving way too slow).
– Weaving in and out of lanes (Esterly Tibbetts and Linford Pierson).
– Tailgating.
– Cars blowing through stop signs.
– Overtaking in the central turn lane on WB Road.
– Pulling out of side roads without properly looking.
– Overloaded dump trucks.
– People holding phones up to their ear (not hands-free).
– Workers sitting in the back of trucks.
– Cyclists on the wrong side of the road.
– Cars parked in such a way that they are obstructing view of drivers.
– Windows with tint that is way too dark.
Agree with all that, except ‘Cyclists on the wrong side of the road.’ I know that is against the traffic laws, but if I were forced to ride a bike to and from work, you can bet for certain that I would want to see whomever was about to hit me.
Crazy riding a bike here.
In other words….No active law enforcement mixed in with poor education and a entitled culture. Almost just like third world and no change in sight.
will keep asking the commisioner for a response on this:
my dashcam records hundreds of offences every day.
why do you not want my footage?
why are not all police cars fitted with dashcams?
why are not all police cars fitted with dashcams?
Cos they’ll catch all the other cops driving like doughnuts!
The “catch me if you can” driver behaviour is enabled by deficient on-road interdiction efforts. Not even sure what the NDC does, there are seemingly no public anti-DUI or drink responsibly efforts from them, apart from seasonal blue ribbon magnets, and certainly no willingness from liquor licensing to crack down on serving regular drunk customers that bartenders and hospitality managers clearly know are drunk drivers (and possibly continuing to drive to the bar while prohibited). A lot of cultural change needs to happen, and it’s not all on the Police – though they could do a lot more with the hundreds of millions they’ve been allocated to 400+ full-time staff….
I agree it is cultural…BUT Brad Ebanks needs to get his shiney arse off his office chair and MAKE the police deal with DUI.
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There should be road blocks in accident hotspots and at random locations EVERY SINGLE FRIDAY AND SATURDAY NIGHT. WITHOUT FAIL.
I know of cops that are drink driving regularly and I’m not talking about a vouple after work. I’m talking significant drinking sessions.
Not until you lose someone to another’s abhorrent selfishness can you understand how much this matters.
GET A GRIP RCIPS!!!!
Uber would solve your problem overnight…
Would be nice if cops would ticket people cutting into the inside turning lane at Hurley’s to continue on to red bay. They have their own lane and they need to stay in it for traffic to flow.
Need traffic lights, period
Lanes mean nothing, just like the double yellow line all the way up Spotts Straight.
Saw a bmw silver hatchback overtake a suv hauling a single jet ski on esterly this afternoon. He overtook on the 3rd lane that only arseholes use. Ya know, the side of the road where you’re not meant to drive.
Wondering when they will work instead of issuing the same press release? Everyday there is at minimum 5 erratic drivers speed by me from prospect to Hurley’s. Everyday there is not one single cop on the side of the road enforcing a speed limit. 4000 tickets would be easily acquired a month if these police did their jobs. I think it’s time to only pay our traffic farce a commission from tickets. That’ll make them work. Right now they are too busy driving around chatting on their hand held phone.
Is there any way at all that concerned citizens can meet members of the RCIPS to make suggestions as to how to better police the roads? I’ve got plenty, but I have no faith that they’re even interested.
7651 tickets = 21 tickets a day across 3 islands for a department with over 400 officers, and I suspect includes multiple tickets for a single stop eg speeding. then found to be unlicensed, uninsured or have illegal tint . Anyone driving on Grand Cayman roads probably sees more than 20 ticket worthy infractions in a single journey, and I bet a wander around the parking lots outside the supermarkets would bring up more than 20 road license or vehicle infractions in the course of 15 minutes actually looking for an offence.
RCIPS needs to be more proactive and more visible, which in turn may reduce offending. And not just with highly visible road blocks at night which are easily visible and evadable by all but the most drunken and stupid. As it is there we have no shortage of people who don’t bother complying with the law, because they reckon the chances of getting caught are infinitesimal.
“Superintendent Brad Ebanks said that … he would be working on to try to prevent more deaths on the roads this year.” – How? Specifically? Whenever someone makes these nonspecific unobjectionable statements (particularly of objectives you’d think everyone would have already anyway, like less death) it always makes me wonder: how?
Meanwhile the Police themselves contribute to a large portion of their problems
“In the last three years, the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service has logged 50 crashes, based on data released to the Cayman Compass through a Freedom of Information request.
Already for 2021, the police have recorded seven collisions, four of which occurred within three days in February.” – CC
Is 7 a large portion of 2,166?
Maybe if they consistently and constantly and effectively and efficiently enforced the law, including through automated ticketing systems, we (and they) would not face the problems we do.
You cannot focus on speed alone. That is only ONE part of the traffic problem. Some people plainly do not know how to handle a motor vehicle, much less understand the physics behind it all. The driving test here is a joke and most Caymanians and expats alike are the problem on our roads.
So how about they start ticketing for persons failing to indicate their lane changes and exits on roundabouts as well? I agree it is not all about speed. It is however all about a decades long failure to consistently enforce the law without fear or favor.
Because the effort required is too much. For failing to indicate, there’s a good chance it would be contested. Without dashcam evidence it’s not exactly a slam dunk.
They should do the $150 ticket, but if it’s paid within 30 days it’s discounted to $75. That would reduce the number of idiots arguing the toss over a ticket, on the chance they evade it.
Maybe failing to indicate could be contested but it is a good opportunity to stop someone, check their license and insurance and make sure they aren’t drunk. A lot of these simple kinds of stops in other countries lead to bigger arrests. And even if they don’t the inconvenience of being stopped might encourage the person to think about indicating the next time.
Automated ticketing charges the vehicle and not the driver so it is completely unconstitutional.
Don’t lend your car to friends
No surprises. We road users encounter bad drivers daily and seldom see anyone pulled over. What happened to the new registration plates system.
Bad is an understatement; many are downright dangerous, and I see it every time I go out. If the police just stood in one spot for 10 minutes anywhere along any one of the the main roads they could ticket at least a dozen offenders.
They could with enough resources. A single ticket takes at least 10 minutes, from stop to resolution. Plus another 10 minutes to enter the ticket into the system. So, while I believe you’re correct, it would take several units to accomplish the feat.
I’d honestly have no objection to random checkpoints during the day/night, if they literally shut down roads for 5 minutes at a time and checked everyone. This would also get around the problem of people messaging their friends to warn them. Keep moving to a different area every few minutes.
Rush hour would be great for this, as traffic is barely moving and already gridlocked. However, between the rubber neckers and the “human rights” idiots, it wouldn’t be feasible.
If it takes 10 minutes to issue a ticket they seriously need to update their systems. A cell phone camera is capable of doing everything needed for evidence and ticketing and enforcement. What we lack is will, and competence.