NRA paints speed limits on road surfaces
(CNS): The National Roads Authority (NRA) has begun marking speed limit changes on the surface of the roads. Officials said in a release that the “red and white roundels can be found on Cayman’s roads island-wide” and were rolled out in partnership with the Ministry of Infrastructure, the RCIPS and the Department of Vehicles & Drivers’ Licensing as part of the National Road Safety Strategy.
These road markings indicate a change in speed limits on some of Cayman’s busiest roads, according to the release. “This new signage serves as an additional reminder to motorists to take note of and abide by the speed limit when commuting. These speed limit roundels are just one of many new strategies being implemented… with the aim of reducing speeding and speeding-related fatalities.”
The NRSS aims to make Cayman’s roads safer and reduce fatal road collisions by 100% by 2038. This landmark strategy builds upon the progress achieved over the past 25 years, with a reduction in road fatalities from a peak of 21 in 1985 to a historic low of eight in 2019.
Nevertheless, nine people died on the roads in 2023 and another 22 were seriously injured. There were 61 crashes on average each week last year. In 2022, there were 14 fatalities on the roads, and so far this year, a total of five people have died, including three who were killed in a collision on Shamrock Road last week.
The ongoing expansion of the Cayman Islands’ population to over 80,000 and a motor vehicle count of over 50,000 registered vehicles underscores the need for continued innovative approaches to road safety.
The Cayman Islands Government said it was committed, through the implementation of the NRSS, to making Cayman’s roads safer, with a clear mission of “Safe Roads, Safe Cayman: The Road to Zero.” The Road to Zero campaign relies on the collective commitment to creating resilient, responsible communities.
NRA Managing Director Edward Howard said, “The National Road Safety Strategy reflects our commitment to creating a safer environment for all road users. By joining hands with the Cayman Islands Government, RCIPS and DVDL, we are embarking on a transformative journey that places road safety at the heart of our community.”
See here for more information or to take the Road to Zero pledge.
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Category: Local News
The NRA/Gov doesn’t care about Pedestrian, Cycle, and Commuter safety.
They put sidewalks on 2 major highways (Esterly Tibbets and Linford Pierson)
They seem to encourage people to walk next to 40,50,60mph+ traffic without coverage. Just repurpose the coastal roads like WB road for walking and cycling.
A bypass/highway is meant for highspeed traffic and large amounts of vehicles not pedestrians or cyclists.
It’s a pure waste of money! I understand on WB road walking /cycling but not a damn highway!
These stupid cycle/pedestrian lanes on the highways remove safe shoulders for cars. People driving will have nowhere to go if they break down.
Also, these medians take up a bunch of lanes unless it’s a long-term plan to turn them into lanes later on.
why is there sidewalks on a highway?
who’s really walking next to 40,50,60+ mph traffic?
An absolutely great idea because it reminds drivers what the speed limits are everywhere.
Please remove bike lanes and sidewalks off the highways!
1. Nobody uses them
2. Very unsafe, nobody wants to walk with 40-50mph+ traffic alongside them.
3. It’s what the local/coastal roads should be made for.
4. It’s just a waste of money altogether!
fix the snug harbour situation on esterly tibbets highway, really unsafe pull-in and pullout
same situation at Crystal Harbour and many other areas on ETH
make extra acceleration and merge lanes, as well for pulling into those places. put safety bollards on the white lines for protection when merging and accelerating
change the damn speed limit on ETH, LPH, and JBH to 50 instead of queens highway (coastal road) being 50, and instead turn queens highway into a 30-40
Change the speed limit to 50mph on Esterly Tibbets Highway, Linford Pierson Highway, and Jay Bodden Highway (when it is complete) instead of 40.
Fix the Queens Highway Speed Limit set it to 30-40
Nothing will change until DVDL stop giving away licenses to people who can’t drive. Nothing.
It’s not the DVDL. The Traffic Court Cause Lists demonstrate that many on our roads never bothered to earn a license anywhere, or are themselves disqualified a few times over, and don’t care. The only way to change driving participants and behaviour is through enforcement via a continuous and relentless ticketing presence. We are paying for that service. It’s a duty owed to us.
Dumber than dumb
Interesting! I wonder if the sections of main road between GT and BT, especially Crewe Road and also Eastern Avenue will soon get these speed limit roundels? Very likely so, even though those roads seriously need repaving.
No sweat, we’ll paint roundels on the roads first, then repave them after…..
Typical!
THank you to the NRA for doing this. I have seen it in other countries and thought it was a good idea. It is at its minimum a clear and visible reminder of the speed limit.
Thank you for this needed traffic work. Too often road side traffic signs were either:
1. Too infrequently poated;
2. In some cases, always obscured by bush/tree branches; or
3. So faded or discoloured that they were unreadable.
So, once again, thanks for this road work that was long overdue.
I don’t want to rain on anyone’s parade, but I’m sure the reason for the reduction in road deaths from the high of 21 in 1985 is probably more due to the leaps forward in car safety features than anything else.
Cars in 1985 were made from biscuit tins, with many sharp things that would snap off in a crash. We now have better and more seatbelts, crumple zones, airbags, active accident avoidance technology etc.
It’s nothing to do with great drivers or amazing infrastructure. The roads here are still built too close to concrete and stone structures, there’s still a lot of poles with nothing to mitigate things hitting them, the road surfaces are still coated in oil and fuel…
Its most likely the fact we’re all stuck in fucking standstill traffic most times of the day.
Very attractive!! Will have no effect at all. Show me the research evidence that speed limits painted on roads is more effective than on sign posts. The only way to stop speeding is to increase by putting two zeros on the end of the fines, AND by a points system on the license. 3 points and a big fine per speeding event and loss of license for 12-month at 12 points.
“abide by the speed limit when commuting.”. Most commuters these days can only dream of driving at anywhere near the speed limit!
pretend pledge and road markings…we are saved!
thanks for nothing again cig.
any comment mrs governor?
No good without proper enforcement instead of soft targeting in non-hotspot areas with the sole aim of increasing revenue.
While they are at it, may as well remove the double yellow lines at Bacadere. Police don’t enforce the law at all there.
I can’t read.
1:26 pm, just X the first KMPH number by 6 and that give you MPH.IE 50 KMPH 5X6 is 30 MPH, correct within 2 mph
That will show them we mean business
how is it 50 on a 2 lane road and 40 on a 6 lane road this shi make no sense bro
25 on a 6 lane road too.
That was a knee-jerk reaction to terrible driving. Nobody thinks the 25 signs are serious, and there’s no enforcement. It’s just so people feel better about workers getting hit by fools.
No way in hell I going 25 on that inviting Nascar bend they installed.
Pointless.
The only thing that will stop the speeders is a combination of:
1. Speed Humps
2. Speed Cameras
4. Increased Traffic Policing
3. Heavy Fines
Just get it done.
1, 2 and 4 for sure, then add enforcement. For point 3, traffic policing needs to get more efficient and be more targeted not simply be increased.
Cameras (Speed and average speed), with the enforcement, are such a no-brainer.
Let’s skip the speed humps, they aren’t engineered and graded properly in the west indies for the target speed. Some of them are 0 mph hard plastic bold downs from China. It’s easy to agree that some closer semblance to the typical police duties we already pay for, would be welcomed by everyone (but the full-time officers themselves).
“Check traffic from the right” reminder should be stencilled discreetly at every major hotel tourism j-walk death site. There are too many of these locations.
Biggest waste of time and money since Joey’s long since faded sharrows.
@Eddie Howard, can you please urgently have these signs painted on the stretch of road between the West Bay Fire Station and Foster’s West Bay??
Motorists are doing 50-60 mph on that stretch, even though it is only a 30 MPH zone! Some motorists traveling south are going so fast that they cannot stop in time for people using the crosswalk at Cemetary Beach! They just go flying through with people on the crosswalk! Somebody is going to get killed!!
Another set of warning lights should be installed further down the road so motorists have ample notice. Even doing the speed limit, it can sometimes be hard to stop smoothly for pedestrians.
So what, can add a few more to the body count!
Speeding cameras, pavers, and doing more control stops would be useful as well. The Fire Service officers could also be used to monitor speeding and recklesss driving, afterall they’re often not doing much else.
it’s all about enforcement, we all know they police don’t care so no body adheres to the laws
It’s 2024. Let that sink in. It’s 2024 and CIG has the bright idea to paint markings on the road (finally). I look forward to 2124 when we may have some speed cameras.
Shame I won’t be alive to see it though. Along with the public transport infrastructure, sidewalks, pedestrian crossings, cycle lanes etc.
At least they put a water fountain at governors beach. Only took them 60 years.
Rotary put the water fountain there.
Can we also look at introducing yellow box junctions (criss-crossed yellow hatching ibn the middle) to stop cars from blocking the flow of traffic after a traffic light changes?
Completely agreed – The irony is that these are already in the Road Code of the Cayman Islands, 3.10.2 BOX JUNCTION, just NRA is too useless to paint some lines, erect some signs and roll out a social media campaign to educate drivers. This would cost so little compared to all the other works they are doing, but considerably aid the traffic flow, esp during busy times. – It would also assist emergency vehicles getting through junctions.
There is no amount of paint that will change poor driving habits.
Look at all the double yellow lines parked all over for happy hour. Nobody cares
Imagine believing that would stop anything. Enforcement is non existent as half (quite literally half) of the population are imported indentured servants on slave wages that bought their driving licenses and therefore cannot be taken to task without physically being caught in the act.
I agree BUT nobody stops at red traffic lights so they won’t stop blocking the flow of traffic, yellow box or not. The standard of driving is atrocious and not surprising when you see how learner drivers are taught – I saw one girl going around a roundabout, in the OUTSIDE lane, no indicator on .. all the way around .. in a learner car so her instructor was telling her to do that. And the police are beyond useless – they do not enforce anything.
These should also be in place at roundabouts.
Who are the geniuses who are thinking all this up? The bad drivers could care less how the speed limit is posted, as long as they can do what ever the hell they want. Take the pledge bro!
They just want the money of a hard-working individual doing 5 mph over the limit trying to make it to work on time. How many fatalities are confirmed to have happened with people doing 5 mph over the limit? Most fatalities happen at late night when there is ZERO traffic police presence. The RCIPS think it’s best to wage war against the average citizen during working hours.
The daily lawbreakers will heed these just like they do stop signs and no littering-no dumping signs.
Can we please have better enforcement of these speed limits and clarity on the rights (and responsbilities) of cyclists.
Thanks!
Better get rid of all the Jamaican police then as they always let their countrymen get away with whatever road infractions they feel like doing. Guess they are afraid of reprisals once they all go back to Jamaica.
AI generated images? Or just photoshop? Amateurs.
Paint them on West Bay Road as a priority. 25MPH.
Issue fines from the speed cameras. The idiots feel it in their pockets.
Good idea. Maybe it helps to keep a few drivers in check.
Now is the time to update our laws so that both mph and kph can be posted. About half our vehicles have kph odometer so our law should accommodate both.
Any miscalibration is user responsibility. If 25mph = 40 kph, then twice that velocity, the highest permissible rate of speed in the land is 50mph, or = 80 kph. 30 mph is 48 kph. Brush this decoder onto your dashboard with liquid paper, if you must.
even if converted correctly, most cars in KPH move about 5 KPH less than the speedometer is showing, leading to people driving 30-35 mph in a 40 mph zone and you feel it even more in 25 mph zones with people actually doing 15 mph.
Its easy enough to do the math and drive accordingly but if this would stop idiots driving at 30 kph in a 30 mph, 40 kph in a 40 mph zone I’m all for it. could have mph at top with kph in brackets below.
1:26 pm, just X the first KMPH number by 6 and that give you MPH.IE 50 KMPH 5X6 is 30 MPH, correct within 2 mph
…or require vehicles to display miles per hour like everywhere else in the world that have speed limits. Plenty of cheap overlays available for all the personal imports, anything sold by a dealer on Island should already have this requirement.
You’ll never guess what (a) actually stops speeding more than paint or signage, (b) reduces road deaths, (c) lowers insurance premiums, (d) removes illegal guns, drugs, dealers and tackles opportunistic crime, (e) safeguards reputation as a crime-free work and holiday destination and (f) contributes to CI General Revenue: a deployed police force, writing the tickets they are being paid to write.
That’ll show em.
Yet, still no eastern sidewalk, or bike lanes even in the heart of the 25mph hotel tourism zone. This regime needs to pass legal protections under the Traffic Regulations to reduce traffic congestion, prohibit lane trespass, and parking obstruction to safeguard our many cyclists. It’s nearly ten years past the NRA’s own development plan which was supposed to provision cycle lanes as part of every road plan since, plus retrofit for existing roads. 9+ years of budgets requisitioned and paid for by the ever-silent public. Roy complains about money left on the table from not milking every revenue dime out of cruise tourism – but where is the PPM on all the capital waste from entrenched constructs their own party engineered? Crickets.
Going for a bike ride is an activity that can’t be provided on the cruise ships, unlike restaurants, pools, bars, and various other entertainment. People who ride bikes spend money over a wider area.
It’s a huge quality of life and local commerce improvement in urban centres with thoughtful consideration for cyclists, scooters, pedestrians(!).