RCIPS holiday safety campaign off to a bad start
(CNS): Traffic cops were called to twenty road smashes over the weekend, including one in which a person was killed and several others badly injured, as the RCIPS holiday safety campaign got off to a bad start. The extension of Operation Quaker into the festive season is a key component of the overall Christmas campaign aimed at reducing traffic collisions and increasing road safety by cracking down on drunk driving, distracted driving and speeding.
In addition to the collisions, six drivers were arrested for DUI and 83 speeding tickets were doled out during this thanksgiving weekend. Another 46 tickets were issued for other traffic offences, such as tint, mobile phone usage and expired registration.
“Unfortunately, the number of road incidents and offences this weekend was a telling sign we have entered the festive season, where we traditionally see increased activity on the roads which inevitably leads to more incidents,” said Chief Inspector Malcolm Kay.
Following the death of Alden Emelo Ohero Irons (29) on Sunday night in Red Bay, 2021 has now matched last year’s death toll on the roads. Nine people have now been killed, which Kay said was disappointing and indicates that there is still much more work to do regarding the promotion of safe driving.
Inspector Dwayne Jones, who heads the Traffic and Roads Policing Unit, urged people to work together to make sure everyone gets home safely to their families this Christmas.
“The police, alongside emergency services, are often the first on the scene at road incidents and have the solemn task of informing and supporting the families after these tragic events, and I can tell you, it’s the hardest part of the job to tell families that their loved ones are not coming home,” he said.
“We implore motorists to please be careful on the roads this holiday season, make sure your vehicles are road worthy, slow down, increase your following distance, and don’t drink and drive,” he added.
Appearing before finance committee on Tuesday, Police Commissioner David Byrne told members that he would be diverting much more resources from the CI$50 million police budget to traffic in 2022 in order to address the dangerous, erratic and reckless driving on local roads, which he said was a serious concern.
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What? Poorly designed road systems have nothing to do with accidents? https://www.unescap.org/sites/default/files/bulletin83_Article-3.pdf
What’s poor about our roads? Compared to the dozens of countries I’ve driven in around the world we have excellent roads and generally good weather too. Bad roads is a pathetic excuse.
Sure, if you compare our roads to Mexico, India, and other third world countries, but as a supposedly first world country our roads are poorly designed, especially the junctions and these ridiculous bollards on the roundabouts, with poorly maintained road surface. Who said anything about weather conditions?
South Sound yesterday, broad daylight, a Garden of Eden landscaping business van was traveling east. The driver of the van (man in a high vis yellow/green top), towing a large box trailer with company name emblazoned on it, was merrily texting while driving.
One example, of several, in a 10 minute drive. He isn’t unique, he’s very typical. People don’t care, and if they get caught, they still don’t care.
Give me Uber or Flex and I’ll stop.
You’ve got Flex. I mean, it’s rubbish, but you’ve got it.
I’d love to have a few beers and use Ubers, but as it is, I’ll have one drink and then just drive myself. Basically, anything to avoid using an overpriced taxi, where you play “guess the cost”.
Yep, the hassle and rip off of getting home stops me going out half the time. On one hand it saves me thousands of dollars a year on the other I hate to think how much the rip of taxi cartel costs our restaurants and bars in aggregate. It’s not just the cost it’s the all too often bad attitude and invariably terrible driving that ruins the end of the night.
Why don’t you consider having a designated driver when you go out. Surely a good night out is due to the company you keep, not the number of amstels you consume. Then rotate the DD role amongst friends, and everyone will get a chance of a skinful without driving. Simples.
let’s hope you don’t kill someone one day bottom feeder
Focusing entirely on people breaking an arbitrary and artificially low speed limit, whilst completely ignoring the countless incidences of dangerous and careless driving that we all witness every day is not going to make one damn bit of difference. Very few accidents happen in excess of the speed limit (in the UK it’s 7%) and you can deal with those that do by throwing a dangerous driving charge at them. You have some of the best roads on the planet but y’all are flapping about speed because you’re terrible drivers; the problem isn’t speed, it’s that you’re terrible drivers.
Almost every Saturday and Sunday morning there’s a car upside down or in the middle of a roundabout between West Bay and GT; how many of those resulted in a DD charge? I’m going to guess none.
While I agree it does happen to be speed as well.
Well yes you generally have to be moving to crash but so few crashes are caused by speed in excess of the limit that focusing on it is a waste of time and in any event when excessive speed does cause a accident there are far more serious charges that could be brought than speeding, like dangerous driving.
At this point just build ramps and let the public do their own stunts.
Judging by the scars of dozens of sumps that’s what the good people of West Bay think the cost u less roundabout is!
Has their safety campaign even started?
The poor and careless / dangerous driving here is a direct result of many years of a glaring lack of consistent and effective enforcement! And many government drivers / vehicles (including the RCIPS) are doing poorly to even set good examples of driving standards. When last did anyone see the Police doing anything positive about the near total absence of persons indicating at roundabouts? It’s rare even to see them police persons illegally overtaking in the turn lanes at school zones!
Just STOP with the excuses and be consistent with proper enforcement!
If you asked every caymanian and Jamaican in cayman to drive from London to Manchester, 1% would complete the journey. Id back every European and USA expat to make the journey safely.
Rascit much?
Spell properly much?
Not rascit or racist. National origin, culture, and race, are different things. You serve no one by conflating them.
honesty much??
You know not all Europeans and Americans are white right?
I’m not so sure about US expats given their crap roundabout skills. Plus most of the cars in the UK aren’t big enough for the average sized American to fit in.
RCIPS stop me, a uk expat, fine me 200 bucks for doing 50 in a 40 between alt and camana school, which should be a 50 zone anyway as no building s on that stretch, as they know I’ll pay the fine. When I am a qualified diver and all the locals crashing never passed a driving test, absolute joke. Most caymanians don’t indicate at roundabouts and use the right hand lane on the highway going slow. Two examples of dangerous driving that automatically fails you in a respected driving test abroad.
Who cares if you’re a UK expat? You broke the law… pay the fine!
How have you been allowed here with such poor grammatical skills and comprehension?
count yourself lucky there are no points here.. pay and smile
There are flights going to UK every week. what is stopping you?
If we mandated a Covid vaccine and a UK driving test (theory and practical) for all caymanians, we would solve the two biggest issues instantly… being Covid spread and road traffic accidents. The governor should intervene.
I’m blaming the selfish unvaccinated, they need to be locked up.
They are determined to kill the vaccinated in one way or another.
Anyone ever wondered why the penalty for driving without insurance (yes, even when people forget to renew) is exactly the same for DUI (an intentional act) – 1 years suspension of driving license.
Seems quite skewed to me. I wonder if the public will be given the opportunity to submit comment for the proposed law revision exercise the Premier announced! Lot’s of BS and archaic laws on the books.
Not just bad drivers then?
I’d love to know how many disqualified drivers we have who are still using the roads every day.
2.46pm Almost all of them except for the ones in prison.
But so would a points system for driving offenses, e.g., 6 points for DUI, 3 points for speeding, 2 points for other offenses. 6+ points lead to ban from driving for 1-year. Low value speeding fines are NO deterrent.
Drivers under 20-years old up to 1100 cc cars only.
RCIPS, while your Operation Quaker is appreciated, please note that bad driving, drunk driving, speeding, etc. happens the ENTIRE year. I understand that at this time of year, there is an increase in the number of infractions but please ensure that the same level of enforcement is provided all year through.
We need urgent enforcement on dump truck drivers who take the roads like the Autobahn. We need urgent enforcement on the public transport drivers that think they can just pull off the road anywhere and pick up or drop off passengers. We need enforcement on persons who blatantly use blue spots for their own satisfaction. We need urgent attention to persons speeding through school zones. In summary, we demand that the same level of enforcement now being delivered as operation Quaker, be delivered all year as Operation 365.
It’s an easy fix. RCIP just needs to show up to work. And stop checking speeds in the same spots (ah we caught on). Here is an idea, maybe get in your vehicles and keep riding up and down all bypasses and roads I’m sure you will come upon the same asinine driving that we all encounter on a daily basis. Here is a hint: Sat at 6:30am there are several cars with people who wear bright lime and orange shirts racing to get to their construction and airport jobs on West Bay bypass start there and I can assure you it will be money in the bank for RCIP or accept dashcam pics from the Public. Just show up, this should not be a hard job. Brad get your Officers out there and off their asses. I am wondering why no one has sued the RCIP yet? For incompetent work,failing to do their job and failing to implement our road laws.
Where I’m from your license is suspended immediately for a DUI.
Court follows.
Welcome to Jamaica
Does that apply to politicians too?
Not the failed thrice one.
Yea, but this is Cayman. Why worry about laws when you know they are not enforced. I myself refrain from driving as much as possible.
It’s a bit like Covid testing – when you actually look for offences, you find them. I bet if RCIPS put the same level of effort in at any other trine of year they would find a similar pattern – bad driving and DUI are not the sole provenance of the Christmas season; it’s a perennial problem, just one usually ignored.
Yes, truth! This ‘campaign’ should be a matter of daily responsibilities. When enough folks have to walk, bike or take transit to work, the word will spread. But maybe they are not working and are being paid to stay at home… except they have enough $$$ to be out and do ?????
Appalling road design, unsafe road surfaces, inadequate vehicle testing process with thousands of unsafe cars that should not be on the road; young drivers in powerful cars they should never be allow to own/drive (restrict the under 20s to 1100cc), allowing expats to drive without taking a Cayman driving test AND SO MANY MORE FACTORS: PERFECT STORM FOR DEATHS ON THE ROAD.
Expats only get 6 months before they need to take a written exam and obtain a cayman license to drive.
Not just bad drivers then?
OK, so you mention a few thoughts that are clearly illegal. Let’s start with enforcing the current laws. Changing the laws will not solve anything if the laws are not enforced.
Lol….cayman driving test is a joke. It need change and use UK driving test as they are one of most strictest test in the world.
Cayman driving test is a joke
Lol. It’s the caymanians not the expats who can’t drive
Actually, all evidence to the contrary. Those involved in the most recent accident, and many many others, are not Caymanian.
11:56 Now explain the amount of Deaths on the roads of MAIMI
every Day!
Population
Poorly designed roads have nothing to do with it.
It’s as if the police admit they have no clue. They base their determinations of how bad it is based on body count – ignoring the countless near-misses we all see weekly. There is no effective consistent enforcement. That is the reality. If there were we would not all be constant witnesses to illegal behaviors on our roads (and the all important body count would be much lower). This does not just to apply to traffic. It is across the board. We all know people who have had their pension monies stolen. How many employers have the police arrested, charged, etc. ?
Surely you don’t expect the RCIPS to actually enforce laws!!!!! (Yes, sarcasm).
I thought using your mobile while driving was legal here.
Not if your trousers have a red stripe on them.
Controversial opinion. Please release the stats on the nationalities of those who are the perpetrators of these incidents. This is not a finger-pointing exercise but if the results show that certain nationalities are responsible for these crashes (hey it might even be our own nationals) then we need to seriously look into making the ability to get a driver’s license more challenging. By challenging I mean a more difficult and rigorous driving test and making it mandatory for all new arrivals on the island. Our road safety is beyond ridiculous at this point. People tailgating on a quiet Sunday afternoon zigzagging through cars on the bypass and an inability to understand the concept of giving way to the right on roundabouts are a few things that many people apparently need to be reeducated about.
ARE YOU MENTAL!!. Do you really want to expose the cold hard truth that we all know deep down?
That truth being that we are an Island that drives on the “Wrong side of the road” according to most of it residents, and that the test if your Caymanian is non existent if you know the instructor and that if you’re foreign, any old license will do (without any proof it’s even real) as long as you take a theory test which absolutely does not prove you know, nor care how to drive here.
The entire thing needs a big overhaul and fast. How many more people, both foreign and domestic need to kill themselves, or others before it happens? who knows.
Start by making it so any license other than a UK one needs retesting in full after 30 days or so. Extra revenue and it will make people actually get it through their thick skulls.
Won’t help the Jamrock lot and their race car antics though. Maybe a head through the windshield is the only remedy for that.
2:40 Sadly the driving license process has gone downhill since I got certified 10 years ago. My father helped me get started. We practiced parking, 3 point turns, etc in parking lots and quiet roads and let me drive around without fear of me hitting anyone. After I got the basics I got some driving lessons with a retired policeman turned driving instructor which really helped. He was very thorough and made sure I got every aspect right. I think it should be a requirement for everyone here to show proof that they’ve had a few lessons with a verified driving instructor.
Racist! The data you requested may be enlightening, but after that your suggestions are clearly racist. Just as some folks don’t believe Caymanians can hold highly technical and elite jobs, you suggesting that the cause of accidents is due to nationality is profoundly naive.
i bet you think the crime statistics are also racist in the united states as well huh
4:17 Calm down and take your pills… I am Caymanian so please do explain how I can be racist against my own people? We need to come to a solution and the route cause of this problem. If it lies with ex-pats then we need to do something. If it lies with our fellow Caymanians we need to do something. There is no excuse for the level of incompetence on the roads. Keeping the wool over our eyes will just continue to cause more deaths. Facts and figures cant be racist.
The problem now is that standards are so low, it’s a real big issue to fix.
The standards here have long been terrible, but the increase in road users has compounded the problem.
Euro style tests are great, but you also need euro style enforcement. I’m talking Scandinavia/French/German/UK/Netherlands style.
Start with low hanging fruit. Stop every car without plates, with dark tint, non-standard light colours, clapped out bodywork. There you’ll also find the ones with no insurance and license in droves.
And breathalyze every traffic stop no matter what the time of day.
10:50 Exactly! Most of the people who you see with tint or driving in crappy un-roadworthy cars also tend to not be insured to drive or even have a license for that matter. If the RCIPS actually fined them successfully the government coffers would see a significant increase. As it currently stands the fining system is a joke. Not only do fines fairly get paid but they are peanuts. Hit them where it hurts ie the wallet. Also, repeat offenders or those driving uninsured unroadworthy cars should have their cars impounded. You cant cause accidents if you don’t have a car.
Errrr no. Driving without insurance or a license should not be a financial problem. We should be deporting or putting them in prison.
DUI etc is a criminal offence in the UK. Not the same as a speeding ticket. And it should be here.
You do it. You suffer for it. Goodbye permit. And goodbye job prospects.
But i suspect this island would be nearly empty if they actually enforced that.
3:51 I’m not disagreeing with you. I’d love to see repeat offenders of dangerous drivers kicked off island. But I’m thinking realistically.. this is never going to happen. Also, it doesn’t fix the problem with what to do if the offenders are Caymanian or status holders… Increasing the fines or impounding the cars is a more realistic and attenable goal methinks.
Why do local media, CNS included, never report on convictions for DUI. It’s publicly available information. Lots of other court convictions are published by the press. Why not DUI. I think it would increase the deterrent and help make drink driving socially unacceptable, as has happened in recent years in the UK.
CNS: I can only speak for CNS. There is a never ending list of things that we could do but there’s only two of us, so we have to use our time wisely and focus our efforts so that we don’t go completely mad.
10:30 Agree this should be done! Shame is one heck of a deterrent!
Well you can easily look anything up yourself if it’s publicly available.
I agree with the suggestion, but also sympathize with CNS.
But so would a points system for driving offenses, e.g., 6 points for DUI, 3 points for speeding, 2 points for other offenses. 6+ points lead to ban from driving for 1-year. Low value speeding fines are NO deterrent.
Drivers under 20-years old up to 1100 cc cars only.
remind me again why ppm banned uber?….
oh yes to protect and the rip-off taxi cartel.
welcome to wonderland.