RCIPS reshuffle puts new face in charge of traffic
(CNS): All eyes will be on Inspector Andre Tahal over the coming months as the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service has revealed that he took over as head of the Traffic and Roads Policing Unit (TRPU) on 1 February. His predecessor, Inspector Dwayne Jones, has moved to uniform operations, the RCIPS said in a release. Tahal’s appointment was made as the number of people in isolation was dropping sharply and tourists were beginning to return, packing local roads to pre-pandemic levels and in some cases even worse congestion.
There has been no sign of any decrease in road crashes, from daily prangs to major fatal collisions, leaving Tahal with a difficult task ahead. Four people have already been killed on Cayman’s roads and the number of serious single-vehicle crashes remains alarming.
However, in a press release about his appointment, Inspector Tahal said he was up for the challenge.
“I am eager to take on the role as the inspector in charge of the Traffic and Roads Policing,” he said. “The unit has a reputation of being extremely high paced and productive, both in proactive policing as well as when responding to serious collisions across the Cayman Islands. In 2021, there was a noticeable increase in serious and fatal collisions. Reducing, and eventually eliminating these tragic incidents will be the main focus of the TRPU Unit going forward.”
Tahal trained in the RCIPS and rose up the ranks to his current post in just short of 25 years of service. He has developed a wide range of expertise, having been inspector of Firearms Response and K9, marine commander, deputy area commander for the West Bay Police Station, commander for Sister Islands, and inspector within the Uniform Operations.
He also has previous experience in the TRPU, where he worked as a constable and team leader in the earlier years of his policing career.
He said that by combining safety operations to enforce the law, such as continuing Operation Quaker targeting dangerous driving and public education initiatives, he hopes to reduce the number of serious collisions.
He said he also intends to continue to partner with other police units and agencies to make the roadways safer, in order to have a greater impact on the public. “It is vital that as a society we change our mindset when we get behind the wheel. We must learn to apply patience, follow the road rules and drive with consideration towards other road users,” Tahal said.
Superintendent Brad Ebanks, who is in charge of Uniform and Specialist Operations and supervises the traffic unit, said he was looking forward to working with Tahal.
“Road policing has always been a priority for the RCIPS, and we appreciate the value of having another dedicated leader who is committed to the task of reducing road fatalities and serious collisions as well as encouraging good driving behaviour on our roadways,” he said.
- Fascinated
- Happy
- Sad
- Angry
- Bored
- Afraid
Jamaican bad driving has taken over…time take roads back sir…
Nothing will fundamentally change.
Can’t upset the tourists
Won’t ticket the bobos
Almost two months into the post and the public never noticed. Doing the same or more of what’s not working isn’t going to win hearts and minds.
Reshuffling people that genuinely think they are doing a good job, won’t make any difference. The RCIPS do not know or care what Traffic Duty entails.
Hurleys roundabout to Spotts landing either way is a racetrack, especially 5pm to midnight.
Andre, do your job, no BS. Lives depend on it.
The RCIPS are communicating that they believe their Traffic Duties are to act as verification liaison to insurance adjusters after roadside vehicle crashes. They feel they are delivering a great performance for the actuarial occupation. Outside of Purple Ribbon season, they do not feel it’s within their scope to read the Road Code or enforce select rules to discourage behaviour that precedes those insurance claims, human injuries and fatalities. According to the RCIPS, that’s up to the poor driving standards of road users, and like a disapproving parent, they seem at liberty to regularly issue press releases about their dissatisfaction – presumably predicated on their having to get in their cars to attend accident sites, after the fact.
It’s a racetrack all hours of the day and night!!
Yeah good luck with that. The last time I saw a traffic car I followed him all the way from ALT to Yacht club roundabout. He was in the right hand lane the entire way, before turning left. If they can’t be bothered to follow the rules while they are being watched by the public then good luck trying to persuade us to follow the rules when they’re not watching.
yup. Saw an RCIPs officer at the junction by Jaques Scott but in the direction heading from town to the direction of Fosters. Man was in the turning lane but wanted to get into the straight lane… no indicator or anything. Just waiting in between both lanes until someone let him in. DISGUSTING Pigs. Can’t even uphold the law.
I saw a police car driving east from Kings in the right hand lane. No indicator at Hurleys, nor at the next two roundabouts towards Ocean club.
Can we put up signs please? Drive left & overtake right. The right hand lane often has very slow vehicles, meaning you have to overtake on the inside. Nearly every truck drives in the right hand lane.
I can forgive tourists, but usually they drive in the correct lane & use their indicators!
I saw someone overtake a police car in the center lane of WB road last week – the police ignored it. Total joke.
He was an RCIPS bobo, you know how it go…
How sad!!!
Is there a rule that says Tesla drivers don’t need a front license plate?
Too many drivers on Cayman’s roads drive by ESP….no signals!!
Please run traffic education campaigns like other countries do.
The insurance companies can save a lot of money by decreasing the number of accidents so they should assist.
They can start with their own police force which never uses indicators on roundabouts.
How do I pull over and ticket a police car when I observe an infraction committed by them? Anyone know the process? Can I ram them if they refuse to stop? Can I taze them if they start cussing and carrying on bad?Equal standards for EVERYONE please.
Police should lead by example I see Police speeding just going to a resturarant to eat. They should understand they are NOT above the law.
A period of learning with an instructor, followed by a real test, would be a good place to start!
Traffic Police
Its not just the number of cars on Cayman roads that is causing the awful gridlock.
The easiest method the Police could use to reduce congestion, is to put a cop at the ALT roundabout during evening rush hour.
They can ticket all the drivers that block the entrances to the roundabout. Most of the gridlock on North Sound Road is because drivers from Industrial go straight on to Godfrey Nixon, and block the bulk of the NS Road traffic that just wants to go down the Esterly-Tibbets, but are all blocked by cars sitting on the roundabout illegally.
The other improvement would be to shut ALT’s exit directly to the Roundabout at 5pm. So many cars use the other entrance race through the car park to avoid the already blocked traffic. Many times forcing their way to the RH lane, blocking both lanes.
Only allowing traffic after 5 pm to exit ALT on Sound Way, would make a huge difference, as it allows room for cars wanting the RH lane to move across efficiently.
Police, as a reminder, a blocked up roundabout stops traffic going in all directions. Many countries have traffic lights on bigger roundabouts for this reason.
I think the only time I have seen police during rush hour is at a scene of an accident, apart from one time when a cop car, acting as the perfect role model, blocked the roundabout entrance themselves (they didn’t appreciate me yelling at them to learn the rules of the road.)
And finally, Police please use your common sense, if you pull over a car, don’t do it in the middle of a roundabout, blocking a lane. Just have the offender park in the hardshoulder, or one of the many car parks, to ticket them.
Small easy fixes are effective and will be profit making with the number of traffic infractions around.
My drive home is from Elgin to SMB, rather than the worse hell of driving East, so my advice is limited to my own rush hour experience.
Sadly, good luck with that one. Police can’t reduce the worst of driving infractions but the one you mention is due to sheer volume and selfishness.
The last Inspector was a very promising fella :-). Mr Tahal please could you put a cop on all major roundabouts and highways that are being abused for speeding, no indicator use, talking on mobile phones,driving without due care and attention, and abusing the driving lanes etc. Ask for an account of the ticket revenue on a monthly basis, and reward the staff accordingly. This will keep patrolmen accountable.
Great idea, but that would require effort, much easier to just show up to calls a couple hours later after they’ve finished their lunch.
Get the RCIP in their cars and start patrolling ETH from 6am to midnight. You’d might be surprised how much $$$$ you could bring In fines. The worst drivers in the world, speeding, reckless driving and texting. I see more RCIP’s in the food line at Fosters than out on patrol.
Mr. Andre!
You shaving your head now…. remember I said you’d look good like that 😀 Good on you.
You have to be direct and enforce the laws. The perception of the people is that the traffic laws are good, but not being enforced. You have an opportunity here to make a huge difference. We are with you, but you have to make it stick.
Traffic is not back-burner stuff. We have treated it such for too long. It’s becoming increasingly important, and in order for things to flow properly, we must focus on those who don’t observe the laws. Also, the incessant boom-boom of thumping open-windowed cars is getting insane. I like my music, but don’t feel the need to splash it on everyone else. This has been unaddressed for too long.
You’re a good man. You have a full plate with this assignment, my friend. Kick ass and take names. Please.
Ticket everyone who does not indicate turns.
I wonder if he knows Seaview Road
In theory, I concur, but with the massive number of vehicles on tbe roads now, a traffic stop will create gridlock.
Good. Once people figure out how to use them it’ll be much better.
The nonsense these people spout is an outrage. They cannot seriously mean what they are saying. Their concept of policing is a joke. Their standards are crap. Their enforcement is lacking. Their systems are medieval. I wish them luck but have lost all confidence in their entire operations. This is not brain surgery. Where are the cameras? Where are electronic ticketing options? Where is the consistent, meaningful enforcement?
Can you please start arresting people that think the right lane is for travelling the same speed as the people in the left lane. Then, those that don’t know that a lane is something you should stay in, even on roundabouts. Honestly, they think it’s a suggestion, not a rule. We’ll get onto the rest later.
Yes, especially drivers of concrete mixer trucks who think it is OK to drive at 20mph in the right hand lane. Happens all the time.
What is it about me and concrete mixer trucks ( I posted at 6.28pm).? Another concrete mixer truck was crawling along the ETH this morning, heading south in the right lane to pick up another load no doubt. Then later on, another truck belonging to the same company ( not a mixer truck) exited the Butterfield roundabout and proceeded to hog the right lane heading north on the ETH at slow speed. I shan’t identify the company, but it is one of our biggies. Management, please put your drivers on notice that their bad driving is being observed.
Congrats, I guess. Based on the release, it sounds like the RCIP is pretty satisfied with their road policing and road safety so It looks like we can expect more of the same. Those who want a serious approach to enforcement are going to be disappointed.
Hey CNS,
For some reason neither my home or work computers can connect to your site. However, using a VPN browser is allowing me to connect.
Something seems to be up – it might be your DNS? Not sure but you might be losing a lot of traffic unknowingly.
Cheers
CNS: Is it possible to send me your IP addresses? We may have to tweak the filters as several people have had this issue recently. Thanks!
Come Tahal, kick some ass for change. Our roads are a mess and driving attitude is bordering on anarchy. Step up the surveillance of our roads in all suspect areas, you must know by now. Just read historical threads on traffic accidents here on CNS. Crack down on rogue drivers who speed, don’t signal, ones that have a cell stuck to their ear, the lane weavers, overloaded, jake-braking wannabe Ferrari driving truck drivers, my car is too sexy for licence plate flouters, stunting dirt bikers, tinted out road terrorists and tailgating twits. That’ll be a good start and should keep you busy until retirement.
And don’t forget the idiots that don’t turn their headlights on after dark because they can see just fine in the street lights. It’s not all about you…headlights are so others can see you coming.
Oh yes, that is a serious issue now.
I had to follow a guy who was doing a delivery side hustle to his base in Camana Bay, and advise him of the danger he was posing by not only driving in the right lane from the Kimpton all the way south, but also with his lights off.
Every one who arrives here without a UK driving license should be given only a temporary license, and make it mandatory for them to get tested. Bring in some retired or seconded UK driving examiners on a clearly defined project period to set up a proper driver education system, do the testing for DVDL and run it for a couple of years and train local understudies.We bring them in for everything else so why not where it is clearly needed. And also while we are at it, make them train the police we have, and those rogue bus drivers. They are the biggest violators.
The new guy doesn’t use his indicators when driving.
This should be interesting.
Inspector Tahal, step 1 has to be to get every one of your officers obeying and practising the entire traffic law/Road code EVERY time they are behind the wheel of a public or private vehicle. Their example will go a very long way in assisting your department.
WHY SHOULD WE IF YOU DON’T.
Then get every other government vehicle to do the same. The example will have more effect than trying to write tickets.
But first every govt driver has to obey the law, starting from the gov car on down.
While you are at it get all of the govt trailers licensed and to have working lights.
I followed a CBC K9 Ford Explorer here. I think they’re the same spec as the police ones, you know they have a cage unit for the dog, and the turn signals are deleted.
Seriously, use your indicators. I’m pretty sure the dog in the car could do a better job.
Remember to do what you say! We are all hoping for your success in solving the deadly traffic issue that plaques Cayman.