Driver critical after another holiday crash
(CNS): One man is in hospital in serious condition after another single-vehicle crash on Cayman’s roads over the holidays. The driver in this case was in a white Kia Rio travelling westbound on the Queen’s Highway in the early morning hours of Tuesday, 31 December, when it left the road, collided with some vegetation and a garbage crate, before landing in the bush on the roadside. At around 1:00am police and emergency services were called to the scene, and the driver, who was alone in the car, was taken to the Cayman Islands Hospital to be treated for serious injuries, where he remains in critical but stable condition.
This crash happened some 24 hours after a fatal collision at around 1:30am on Monday morning on the East-west Arterial. Brandon Thompson (26), a father of a young daughter and an auto-mechanic at the government vehicle services, was killed in that crash yesterday.
In the wake of this seventh fatality on Cayman’s roads in 2019, as well as hundreds of serious crashes and thousands of minor bumps and collisions this year, the police urged people not to drink and drive as the holiday celebrations continue.
In a press release on NYE, Inspector Dwayne Jones of the Traffic and Roads Policing Unit said the priority of the RCIPS was the safety of all those who use the roads.
“We urge the public to be cautious and responsible and to remember that dangerous behaviour on the roads not only puts you in danger but also everyone else around you. Everyone needs to do their part in keeping our community safe because every road death or serious injury has a tremendous impact on the community as a whole,” he said.
Police will be conducting numerous traffic checks around the island to combat drunk driving, speeding and other dangerous behaviour. The RCIPS has also partnered with the National Drug Council to support the designated driver and New Year’s Eve Purple Ribbon Bus campaigns.
More information about the NDC’s campaigns can be found here, and a map of the Purple Ribbon Bus routes can be found here.
“With this kind of service available this evening, there is no reason for anyone to be getting behind the wheel if they have been drinking,” added Inspector Jones. “A DUI results in the mandatory loss of your licence for a minimum of one year – and that is no way to start 2020.”
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Category: Local News
I have just returned from the land of magic roundabouts. Big roundabouts, small roundabouts, mini roundabouts, roundabouts controlled by traffic lights at rush hour, roundabouts that my 80+ year old mother can negotiate.
So tell me, why can’t drivers here use them properly?
Exactly round and round in circles we go!
EXACTLY!
Unless there is going to be a reliable system to get drunk people home (like available taxis, buses etc) then the pubs/clubs should close when the last bus runs. If the business owners don’t like this then get involved and get a reliable system in place to take people home!
Why is it their problem? Government should stop letting the taxis control the system. End of story.
they are the ones serving the drinks….so therefore they are part of the problem, just like the people taking the drinks, and the government allowing all of it…
So by your logic they should also provide health insurance since they are the ones feeding us unhealthy food that’s making us fat.
I’ve never lived in such a place like Cayman where drink driving is the order of the day. Never experienced so many fatal road accidents through pure stupidity, and disregard for not just their own lives, but every other innocent persons too. It’s got so bad now that CIG needs to invest more money into RCIPS Traffic Dept., in order to really clamp down on these violators. Also the system needs to be changed drastically on convictions. Hit these idiots in the pocket, not just by taking away their liberty but by confiscating their vehicle in certain circumstances like drink/drug driving just as is done when drugs are found in vehicles. This is why so many work permits are granted on this island because people are dying way before their time through their stupidity…..in time there’ll be no Caymanians left!
Listen up everyone, most people are not drunk they just cannot drive. Stop blaming people that drive drunk on every accident because unfortunately that’s not the case here. Zero enforcement for many years has left this island like the wild wild West.
Dismantle the taxi problem and solve the drunk driving problem (not totally but at least by A LOT). Enforce the traffic laws, fix shitty driver problems.
Easier said than done re fixing shitty driving. The local license is still too easy to obtain. Many people drive without a license, even after being caught. Many overseas drivers bring their truly terrible driving with them.
About 50% of vehicles drive with fog lights on. I’ve never seen fog here, ever.
About 15% of cars use their full beam at all times on a night. They truly don’t know that they’re blinding everyone with their stupidity in many cases.
About 100% of Civics seem to have had the seatbelt delete option.
About 90% of drivers don’t/won’t use indicators. In an automatic car, that’s pure ignorance.
I often wish I had machine guns integrated into my headlights, with a similar system in the rear too.
Best reply ever!
I wear glasses and even with antireflection lenses I am blinded by idiots who do not seem to know how to dim their lights. I sometimes wonder if some people cross over the white line in the middle of the road to play chicken or they just drive that badly.
I really do now understand why some drivers have 100ft tall trucks with satellite dishes for tires, not to mention the spikes on their rims. It seems we all need tanks to survive on the roads now.
Totally agree. Did you guys all hear of the lady holding a toddler on her lap in the front seat of a car? So the lady wasn’t buckled in and the toddler open the car door and they fell out at the Butterfield roundabout while circling it. They should’ve been cited and maybe a child welfare check is in order.
Stop driving like your in Jamaica….
Start enforcing traffic rules like they do in a civilized world.
Urging, begging, pleading etc. never works.
Given governments immigration policy, we are in Jamaica – or at least a western parish of it.
Give me Uber or Flex and I’ll stop. Until then…
Flex probably won’t be cheaper. Just make uber and lyft available! Jesus Christ!
What’s wrong with arranging to have a designated driver and pay him? What is the difference?
I would like to go home when I want to go home. I don’t need an anchor of a designated driver weighing on my social life.
Not a problem then. Just drink responsibly.
You do realize you are making this stupid comment after people have lost their lives doing the very same thing you’re being a smart ass about right? Keep tempting fate nuh! Idiot.
You realize the limit is about 3 times what it is in the UK or Canada? That it doesn’t stop you having a couple of drinks and driving – but is set at a level where you are already significantly impaired. And yet you still think you need to drink more than that? And then drive and put your life and others at risk.
The problem my friend is not the limit and it’s not the rapacious taxi drivers; it’s your relationship with alcohol. Trust me. I got done for DUI and it was the best thing that could have happened to me – a real wake up call, before I let constant and unbridled drinking ruin my life and others.
About $5000 a year.
Riding sharing in Cayman (or anywhere else in the world) would not stop some people drinking and driving. There are just some people who feel that it is their right to drink 🍸 and drive. That will never change! Also, ride sharing is not instant! You would still have to wait just like you do for a taxi. And let’s face it, it wouldn’t be cheap either! Is anything cheap in Cayman?!!!
There are people who are responsible for their behaviour and those that are not. When I was young and foolish, I was irresponsible. Now I am not.
We need more reliable, comfortable transportation for those who will not choose wisely. We should want to save the lives of those who make poor choices.
I hope and pray the young man recovers.
Life seems pretty cheap, the way people drive.