Road changes may not be enough to make Spotts safe
(CNS): One of Grand Cayman’s most notoriously dangerous stretches of road is finally receiving some attention from the government, which has said it plans to make Spotts Straight safer. Since January, there have been six fatalities on this 1.5-mile stretch of road, illustrating the urgent need for proactive and sustainable safety measures.
However, campaigners who have pressed the government for years about reducing the speed limit and for more traffic enforcement are concerned that the authorities are not taking the right approach and don’t have a sufficient budget.
In a recent press release, officials said that in response to growing concerns from local communities, the National Road Safety Committee, the National Roads Authority (NRA) and the Ministry of Infrastructure had “adopted a multi-faceted approach to mitigate risks along this hazardous corridor”.
Residents have been campaigning for a reduction in the speed limits on this stretch of road, workable calming measures and above all, enforcement, given that excessive speeding has been the primary cause of deaths and serious collisions on this road, which has a 40mph limit. The premier’s niece, Channah Connor, was among those killed on this stretch of road last year.
According to the campaigners, Police Commissioner Kurt Walton, the head of traffic Andre Tahal and other senior police officers have, on more than one occasion, told residents in the area that 25% of road deaths in the Cayman Islands happened on Shamrock Road.
Residents maintain that the RCIPS has told them that Spotts Straight is considered too dangerous for them to police and doesn’t have adequate traffic calming measures. The RCIPS has denied making any such comment but agreed it would be accurate to say that Shamrock Road presents challenges to police, largely due to its layout and design.
Nevertheless, the residents stand by their claim that the police had implied it was too dangerous to conduct enforcement exercises there.
Given the chronic level of non-compliance with the speed limit, the campaign group Save Lives on Shamrock Road has been asking for it to be reduced to 25mph. However, officials said that while this was considered, the committee concluded that this alone would not adequately address driver behaviour, particularly reckless and habitual speeding.
As a result, a strategy has been developed, combining enforcement, engineering improvements, and revised safety standards, but the Save Lives group is concerned that without a reduction in speed, none of the measures will work.
The campaigners have welcomed the idea of a roundabout at the Poindexter Road and Shamrock Road junction to manage vehicle speeds and improve traffic flow, which will be completed by the end of March next year. But a spokesperson for the Save Lives group told CNS that in conversations with NRA officials, they were told a roundabout could cost as much as CI$1 million. However, according to Chief Officer Eric Bush, the entire budget for this safety project is $500,000.
Other road modifications include raised pedestrian crossings and rumble strips and the installation of delineators along the centre of Spotts Straight by Christmas 2024 to eliminate overtaking, which is a significant safety hazard on this road. However, these measures can only be implemented if the speed limit is reduced to 25 mph, which the ministry appears to have decided not to do.
Bush said the ministry’s primary responsibility is to create safe, resilient roadways that reflect the government’s commitment to public welfare.
“This funding will enable the NRA to implement evidence-based solutions that address the root causes of accidents and ensure the long-term safety of all road users,” he said about the budget, even though it does not seem to be enough to cover all of the proposed measures.
The campaigners told CNS they were somewhat encouraged that, after all their campaigning and meetings with various government departments, some of their suggestions have been initiated to save lives on Shamrock Road.
“However, we remain concerned that this is pre-election noise that hasn’t properly been thought out. It was our understanding from the meetings and correspondence that long lines of delineators and raised crosswalks were not possible in a 30 or 40 mph limit, only in a 25 mph zone, and that rumble strips made too much noise for neighbouring residential properties,” a spokesperson for the group said, adding that the budget is insufficient.
The campaigners said the problem is the speed limit, and with the volume of traffic, other measures such as speed cameras automatically issuing tickets, more RCIPS enforcement, an efficient and reliable bus service and affordable taxis for the Eastern Districts, especially in the holiday season, would go a long way to address dangerous driving.
“Save Lives on Shamrock Road is a community group and was initiated after the premier’s niece tragically died on Shamrock Road. Unfortunately, there have been far too many deaths and serious crashes since along Spotts Straight,” the spokesperson added as they urged the government to reduce the speed limit.
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Roads don’t kill people. Bad drivers kill people and themselves. Cayman Culture intitles bad drivers to drive so it can not be fixed or changed. Get used to it, understand it, and drive like you know many here do not follow any laws and don’t care about the lives of those around them and don’t get on the roads if you can help it. Plain stupid to think that changing a road will make it safer but that’s what they do here isn’t it?
If Inspector Tahal would just try to enforce the laws on the roads that would reduce the accidents from speeding, no brake lights, no head lights, messaging while driving and drunk driving.
Shamrock Road from Spotts Road to Anton Bodden Drive in Bodden Town, should have Police patrolling the road at nights as that is when the crazy driving takes place.
Reducing the speed limits in the Spotts are will unlikely stop sppeding on that road.
Can someone please explain to me why we don’t have a points system here? If the clowns keep speeding they lose their licenses and have take one of Kola Kenny’s amazing new bus….. oh.
people drive without licenses everyday so im sure this isnt going to be the best of helps.
Surely we need more sleeping policemen.
Spotts is already safe, what we are really trying to say is, how are we going to protect people not following the law from themselves? Probably a clear cut way would be to HAVE POLICE OFFICERS PATROLLING THAT AREA ON A FREQUENT BASIS.
With the advent of AI and high resolution video surveillance installing robotic traffic enforcement equipment is clearly a much more superior and economically feasible solution if only for its impartiality.
It couldn’t be any simpler. We give licenses to people who simply can’t drive safely at any speed. Our driver training and test are a complete joke. Nothing will change.
As we wake up to the news of a second road fatality in 24hrs, perhaps it’s time to additionally consider the contents of this article:
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20240517-vision-zero-how-europe-cut-the-number-of-people-dying-on-its-roads
Yes, we need massive changes to who can drive here, and much more enforcement, but we also need to acknowledge that our roads are not safe.
Sincere condolences to those who have lost their loved ones.
Drinking and driving is socially accepted in Cayman. People are out for a drink then head to the car park to drive home. None of their friends say a word, likely as they do the same.
Many countries have created a social change where it is simply not accepted. People who are driving DO NOT drink.
Cayman culture is all about respect and integrity. We are losing that and people drinking then driving is a sad and often tragic example.
Of course we await the police and the courts for the death of the cyclist last night, but the fact that this could be a case of death by drink driving is something we can all sadly imagine in today’s Cayman.
Next time you are out over the holidays , don’t have a single drink if you are driving. In addition, talk to anyone who has done and talk to them in the firmest terms.
Nothing happens until we stand up for something.
How can this be controversial, why are there down-votes?
its socially accepted byt he government to by not having available RELIABLE resources. by that i dont mean the taxis tht charge you $50 to go 15 mins away and also drive batshit crazy. so its a push and pull on both sides and not one is doing anything except adding more roundabout that do nothing
“Taxis are too expensive so I’m going to drive drunk”
No. Just no.
I drive better drunk than any sober taxi/bus driver.
Ridiculous (of course), but the point here is simple. If you are going to drive, don’t drink. Too difficult?
Drivers and vehicles licenses are too cheap. thats why so many people gets licenses and vehicles and drives like crazy. Fees been the same for many, many years. needs to double it .
I just saw a white Honda Fit driving on LPH. Brake lights on constantly. As he got to the roundabout, I could see no seatbelt, no indication, and of course, he was texting on his phone. All whole in the car right lane of a quiet road. There’s about $500 in tickets right there, in just one moment. This isn’t even atypical.
My point is, with the roads clogged up with these buffoons, it doesn’t matter what they do by Spotts, you’re going to have issues still.
Reducing the speed limit will do absolutely nothing. Speeders will continue to speed….
I said that to someone today. You do 40, they do 50 to pass you.
If you did 50, they will do 70 to get past you.
Drivers here are simply unable to mitigate and control speed.
Why punish lawful people because we won’t punish lawless ones. Stop exchanging JA licenses for a Cayman one,ticket ticket ticket, impound cars and deport deport.
Roundabout NOT needed. We already giddy head from having to traverse the ones we have now.
What is needed is ENFORCEMENT and TICKETING of speeders. Was the law not changed many years ago that dump trucks could not exceed 35mph? If so, is the law still in effect and if so, why am I not seeing dump trucks being ticketed.
MORE ENFORCEMENT and LESS ROUNDABOUTS!!!!!!
Very poignant point re the dump trucks. However look at where 70-80% of the drivers hail from and then look at the makeup of the traffic police and where they come from. Case dismissed!
Agreed, and harsher penalties. Law breakers need to fear the punishment more than the want/need for speeding. They need to know there will be consequences for their actions.
Right now they have free reign, nothing is being enforced. Many are clearly getting away scot-free with speeding so there’s no incentive to stop.
Adding a roundabout there will do nothing. Only difference is they will speed and overtake dangerously on the roundabout instead.
99.9% of fatalities on the roads are imported cars from Japan. prove me wrong
someone produced a list of every fatality and car last year with a link to every cns report. iirc 14/15 were hondas and 1 was a suzuki.
it’s not the make of car that causes accidents, it’s the idiot behind the wheel that does
Very strange that a make of car driven by 20% of people is involved in over 90% of fatal crashes then.
A totally meaningless statistic.
I’ve imported and driven 4 Japanese vehicles over the last 30 years, and have not died even once. What might this statistic mean? Am I invincible? Or perhaps I’m just a responsible driver that doesn’t drive drunk and doesn’t go double the posted speed limit. Hard to say definitively either way, I suppose.
No one said everyone who drives a Honda is an idiot but it certainly seems to be that every idiot drives a Honda.
Managed retreat of the homes and condominiums along Shamrock Road is the only viable solution.
Driving test here is a joke and examiners can be bought too im sure. Just like a years licensing. Idiots who shouldn’t be anywhere near a skateboard never mind a machine driving like idiots they are. No regard for life or safety. Cayman has sold out to permit holders, some with no brains, those will kill you for sure. Install 6 cameras along the roadsides and be done. Its outgoing costs will see results. Police? Start actually getting death traps off the roads I see them every day, shouldn’t be too hard or is it?
Speed activated spike strips are the way to go.
What happens when emergency vehicles need to cross them? Do we notify Moneypenny so she can remotely send the disarm codes via satellite? Stop watching so much TV, 007.
There is little to no police presence on the roads. The solution is that the wage thieves that are the JDF FKA RCIPS need to do the jobs they are (over)paid to do, and they need to do it all year round, not just 3 or 4 times a year whenever the latest “Operation Meet-Our-Quota” comes around. We have one of the highest number of cops per capital in the entire world, and Cayman is the size of a small city. Andre Tahal et al need to be forced to justify their salaries.
Surely just some average speed cameras are needed- one at the start of this stretch and one at the end. Calculate time using distance and max speed limit between them and if you get through faster you are obviously speeding. Number plate readers add the fine to the car. Will be lucrative
A system of speed cameras that operate 24 hours a day and produce revenue
Is such an obvious solution Can anyone explain why the police won’t
even consider the possibility?
Political will is the obvious answer as I can’t see any logical reason why we don’t simply cover the roads with cameras. The U.K. did it and virtually eradicated speeding.
They can’t allocate money to this to do it right?
Has anyone calculated the costs for a fatal or serious accident? reconstruction experts, police investigation time, insurance costs, healthcare for serious injuries etc. It would save a lot of time and money if they spent what was needed now. So shortsighted. As for policing it, they need to build in some areas for police units to park and observe/pull over vehicles.
I’ll let you in on a little secret. They don’t care whether work permit holders die. Easy go easy come.
Maybe not since the school in CYB and crack park in south central GT are higher up on the priority capital expenditure list.
Just install 3 or more speed cameras at intervals, job done, budget saved.
The “problem” with speed cameras is they will also catch the “wrong” people. Government vehicles, Politicians, senior civil servants, etc.
No can do star. We have 40k people with no method of enforcing or delivering enforcement.
You send the ticket to the PO Box on the work permit? That’s years out of date now. I don’t get it in time, I sue you to get it thrown out.
Simple.
If your PO Box and residence aren’t kept updated, are you not failing to meet the expectations of your permit grant, and therefore should have it revoked and likely be legal grounds for deportation?
Not just here, but in other places. When speed cameras were installed where I was from in Canada, speeding went down by 90%. And those that want to break the limit can contribute to government revenue.
Can’t renew registration or transfer registration upon sale unless all outstanding penalties are paid.
Please go back there if its so great. Also you stat sounds completely made up.
Ok, have any solutions to offer other than ‘go back from where ye came’.
Do you? Preferably ones that don’t involve making up statistics.
Citation for “speeding went down by 90%”?
How about the police just do what they are paid to do!!!
How about those giving out drivers licenses to anyone!!!
How about ticketing those on the phone while driving!!!
Driving here is a joke!!!
Not only will a lower speed limit not help, roundabouts are built here so the approach does not slow traffic down enough that traffic moving in othbe directions can not flow because cars are passing through the roundabout at highway speeds.
If people indicated their intentions, this would not be an issue. Again, speed is not the issue, it is the lack of driving skills and people just not knowing the road code. To top it off, the lack of enforcement of any other traffic law other than speeding does not help in changing the driving culture.
Blah, blah, blah. DVDL gives out licenses like they come in cereal boxes with a small toy. Half these people shouldn’t be allowed near a bicycle let alone a car
OMG!!! Please just install permanent speed cameras capturing both directions of traffic along Spotts Straight Road (as we call it)!!! This will be a lot cheaper and will even generate some income for the folks who “forget” that the cameras are located there. There is no need for another huge roundabout that will take ages to construct and disrupt traffic flow.
Stop it! The problem is a lack of enforcement and crap policing. Traffic cameras/modern computer systems and active meaningful enforcement will make it safe.
How will these measures affect emergency vehichles/response times where every second counts.
Hate to think someone lost their life because the ambulance/fire truck couldnt get there in time because of these “calming” measures.
Errr not much. Traffic calming engineering is used extensively in the UK. The lives saved from it outweigh the lives lost because of it.
Ambulances barely move faster than traffic in any case, and police cars can blast over bumps if needed.
Yes, but we use it in residential and pedestrian areas where people live and shop, NOT on roads like Spotts Straight.
News flash, the roads are not the problem.
The most effective deterrent against speeding is a system of average-speed cameras which automatically read license plates and time the vehicles between point A and point B. Stand-alone radar is ineffective because many people post about the locations on social media, then the irresponsible drivers know where to slow down and where to resume their reckless speeding.
.
The left lane in Cayman is the default lane – only use the right lane when you are passing vehicles in the left lane or you are about to immediately make a right turn.
Police Commissioner Kurt Walton also told residents in the area that 25% of the Cayman Island’s road deaths happened on Shamrock Road, yet Spotts Straight is considered too dangerous for them to police and certainly doesn’t have adequate traffic calming measures. Wait a minute, to dangerous to police? And you wonder why you have deaths on that road. You can’t make this stuff up. Enforce the law 😡😡😡
Then use speed cameras
The Spotts residents have no clue what their talking about. Lowering the speed limit will not make the speeders drive slower, it just punishes everyone else. the speed limit could be 15 mph and people will still speed. A speed limit does not magically make someone drive at that speed, only law abiders will. Enforcement is what is needed Islands-wide. We have sufficient traffic laws, what is missing is enforcement, not changing what is in place already.
West Bay Road being a case in point
Reducing the speed limit is both stupid and fruitless as those who are currently speeding and driving recklessly will continue to do so. The police need to also focus on those driving 10mph and more below the speed limit as this is often what causes road rage leading to speeding and reckless driving.
Agree with most of what you said, but driving any more than 5 mph under the speed limit should warrant police to pull you over to find the true cause of such slow driving. For example, non-roadworthy vehicles, distracted driving, incompetent drivers, driving under the influence or just trying to avoid police detection. Everyone knows that the RCIPS condones slow driving and applauds it. If you don’t want to get pulled over for whatever reason, just drive slowly and avoid roadblocks. RCIPS too dunce to figure that one out and only concerned about their yearly Christmas campaign.
laughable stuff as usual from cig and the police force.
their incompetence and failures are never ending.
Yes but we are paying for there incompetence and pay their salaries for not doing their jobs. I’m pissed about this. Not only they are going to tax the crap out of me, some family members will be getting some kick back out o the $1m price. Why not just install 2 – $100k speed cameras? Less costs and maintainance.z
Since the purple flags went up, 2 deaths and 1 due to DUI.
The lawlessness, carnage and deaths will never end thanks to no legitimate traffic enforcement for years now.