Police net dozens of drivers for traffic violations

| 08/07/2009

(CNS): In the last week police have caught 70 drivers breaking the law in the Eastern Districts with ‘speeding’ accounting for over half the offences detected, the RCIPS said yesterday (7 July). Officers reported that 42 people were caught driving above the prescribed speed limit and 23 people were caught for not wearing the seatbelts. The remaining five offences were for failing to display a current coupon, 4 drivers and one person was caught driving with a defective light.

“Public safety is our primary concern and it is a disappointment to see so many people breaking the traffic law,” said Area Commander, Chief Inspector Richard Barrow. “The rules of theroad are in place to help keep all road users safe and drivers should bear that in mind at all times.”

Barrow also called on dump truck drivers to remember that their loads need to be covered at all times and to be mindful of the narrow roadways in Bodden Town. “When travelling through the Eastern Districts, dump truck drivers should be mindful of the noise they can produce. I ask all drivers to slow down, ensure their loads are covered and not use their brakes in a way that will cause annoyance to the community,” he said.

CI Barrow stressed that officers will continue to monitor the roads and any traffic violators will be dealt with accordingly, stating that preventing collisions and ensuring public safety is a top priority.

Anyone with information about crime taking place in the Eastern Districts should contact their local police station or Crime Stoppers on 800-8477 (TIPS). All persons calling Crime Stoppers remain anonymous, and are eligible for a reward of up to $1000, should their information lead to an arrest or recovery of property/drugs.

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  1. Mr. Bates says:

     People we really need to give the police dept a gold medal for giving out so many tickets because that’s all the hell they are good for and nothing else or maybe we can just give them all a medal for the shame and disgrace that they deserve.  Baines if you dont straighten up those cops down there I swear to God almighty that I will personally write to theQueen of England  and top British official in the parliment about our disgraceful  corrupted police dept.   I will get over 100 petition sign by our Caymanian people showing the lack of morals and respect they give to us(especially the women police) we dont deserve, too many cold cases unsolved, something has to be done.

  2. Tina Farr says:

    I think the Cayman Island police deparyment is a joke!!Just Friday my son decides to take my husbands company car on a joy ride after we had all went to bed. He clips a car on Frank Sound causing no damage  but decides not to stop out of fear i would imagine. The victim decides to chase him and rams into him and of course they total their car and he keeps going!!Not even a stone throw from home. They call the BTPD. After such a through investigation they arrest my husband and never question the fact that his vehicle is damaged in the rear and must have been driving backwards at 2 a.m. in the morning. When my son finally came clean with us the next day we took him to the BTPD and they wouldn’t even take his report. They took a message for the investigating officers who were suppost to call us or come by here last night and of course no call, no show. If i didn’t show up to properly do my job i would be fired!!

  3. Anonymous says:

    Has anyone considered that the police work on the roads may be a contributing factor to the low level of fatal crashes for this year? I am sure when someone dies on the road you will all be the first to scream ‘what have police been doing on the roads’.

  4. Death by stupidity says:

    Along similar lines, I sincerely hope that the moron who thought it would be ok to leave that mound of dirt across the Butterfield roundabout exit is held responsible when someone else gets killed there this week. There is no excuse for allowing the road to be left in that dangerous state, none.

  5. Jackie Stewart says:

    Nobody needs road hassles first thing in the morning.

    Still, on my way to work this morning a silver/grey Suzuki Grand Vitara came up behind me, pulling to within about a meter of my vehicle.  And they stayed there.  Recognizing an unsafe driving situation, I quickly pulled to the side of the road and let them pass.  Let somebody else deal with such foolishness.

    To the driver of the silver/grey Suzuki Grand Vitara, license plate 113 381 – you drive like a fool.  You are unnecessarily dangerous and if you keep driving like that, you will wind up killing someone – probably yourself.

    Good riddance.

    If you were having an emergency such as massive bleeding or your wife was in labour, I might understand you feeling the need to drive that way.  If that was the case, I apologize.

     

  6. 35 mph says:

    Twyla,

    Heaven forbid that you will contribute on something you know little about. 

    Travelling in excess of 30 mph vastly increases the chances of causing death in the event of a collision with a pedestrian.  Perhaps the underpaid hero of your fairystory should have simply left for work on time rather than selfishly risking other people’s lives speeding in to work.  if one drives down any of the major roads just before 6am or 7am, one finds many speeders trying to get to work on time.  They should be stopped, fined and banned.  The bus drviers on West bay Road trying to get to the pickup spots for the cruise ships are worst.

    There is no excuse for speeding.

    There is no excuse either for having more children than you can afford.  But that is a different story.

    Beep Beep Baci

    • Twyla M Vargas says:

      Twyla, heaven Forbid.

      That I will contribute to something I know little about. 

      I think that if you check with your Captain he can tell you that I know alot about what I am contributing to.  You may be surprized how much.  The old tatics of Prosecuting every thing that moves and handing out tickets to gain stripes dont work any more.   The police force is looking for Intelligent police officers with good educational background.

      Mind you I am not saying that speeders snould not be stopped and prosecuted, what I am saying,  is use your discretion in fly swating every thing that moves.  I try not to speed,  because I know it is against the law, and it can cause a life.  In in my whole life time I have had only one speed ticket about 12 years ago.   However the gist of my previous comments are, that the police should also seek to cover grounds in other directions  and have a keen eye for such persons which are causing criminal activities an unrest in the nation.  Walk good

  7. RPO says:

    Forget about drugs and crime lets persecuted them with lots of traffic tickets. A big Payday  We just can’t win in Cayman folks?

  8. Twyla M Vargas says:

    PUBLIC SAFETY?   

    Yes, the police can bragg about the good job of cracking down on speeders in the eastern district, but  how many of those cars they have searched randomly on a day.  How many guns have they discovered in a search.  It is about time the police develop an eye for viewing suspected criminals instead of looking at registration stickers.

    I congragulate them for the good job they are doing to the little man who is doing 35 MPH in a 30 MPH speed zone.  trying to get to a job paying 300 dollars a week to feed 5 children.   How many persons are getting killed by a 35 MPH speed limit.  You want something to do and be recognized?  Find the Guns out there that is killing our young people.  Develop an eye for criminals not working and going no where, search the Blasted vehicles and find something that can put a star in your crown.  Walk good.

  9. Anonymous says:

    This is very obviously just another exercise to raise government revenue and statistics.  Executing this sort of policing every once in a while is not policiing.  Proper policing would see this kind of thing done on a daily basis.   There is no doubt in my mind that drivers are aware the the odds of getting caught are very low and so continue to break laws.   Drinking and driving is so common, I personally am aware of many that continue to drink to excess and drive home.

    I will not be one of those congratulating the police until I see they are effective, most of the ones I see and know are as bad as the ones they ticket.   Just the other day I saw a police car with lights and sirens on weaving dangerously in traffic.  I pulled over to give the oncoming car some room and was shocked to see the driver with only one hand on the wheel and visibly laughing with his colleague.  It was almost as if they were just having fun and did not appear to be attending to any emergency.

  10. Anonymous says:

    As a Caymanian, i am absolutely disgusted with the sorry condition of the police force. What is wrong? Have you given up? Do we need to call on Charles Bronson? You are so heavy handed in light matters and light handed in heavy matters. You have no spine and quite frankly, the majority of the people here have no faith in you. Half of you cannot read nor write and don’t get me going on your lack of driving skills. I rarely see a police car whose driver knows how to indicate.

    I demand that you earn your wages that we pay. Who is the politician in charge of the police? Perhaps he/she resides in the UK along with the rest of those sorry politically correct losers because I see that the so-called elected politicians are as toothless as a snail.

    I ask on behalf of all law-abiding Caymanian people that the head of police and the LOGB publicly present a coherent law-enforcement strategy to the people of the Cayman Islands within 2 weeks or face a vote of no confidence. You should address violent crime, illegal weapons, drugs, domestic violence and gangs, for starters.

    Stop schmoozing overseas and roll your sleeves up and deal with home!!!!!!!

  11. Terry Wilton says:

     I’d like to comment about car headlights at night. This is an issue which I believe needs to be addressed urgently. 

    Last Saturday evening I drove from Prospect to Bodden Town, setting off at 7.30. On the way to Bodden Town the headlights of oncoming cars and trucks were continually blinding me. As far as I can work out there are two possible reasons for this. The offending vehicles are either left hand drive and the beam has never been adjusted, or they are right hand drive and have not been maintained properly.

    I was so fed up about this that on the way back at 9.30 my wife and I kept a tally. 53 cars approached us and 34 of them had blinding headlights. That’s over half!

    Adding to this problem were 3 cyclists with black faces, dark clothes and no lights, one of who was cycling on the wrong side of the road. There may have been others but I didn’t see them.

    One day, sooner or later, these factors will lead to a fatality. It’s inevitable.

    I recently bought a used car. Before I bought it I saw that all 5 tyres were awful and potentially dangerous. The tyres were balder than Yul Brynner. This car was in constant use for several weeks before I bought it. If the driver had braked sharply on a bend on a wet road, there could have been carnage. I negotiated the price downwards accordingly. Before I drove it anywhere I had all the tyres replaced. Why is there no rigorous, legally enforced, annual test?

    There should be an annual check up for all vehicles to ensure that they are roadworthy. If headlights are wrongly adjusted, or tyres bald, or brakes inefficient, then surely the car, truck or lorry should be taken off the road until adjustments are made.

    Perhaps the police could do more. Instead of roaring up and down Shamrock Road with their lights flashing and sirens wailing on their way to either Wendy’s or Burger King, they could do a few random roadside checks. Please don’t bleat about Civil Rights. The owner and driver of a dangerous vehicle has forfeited his or her civil rights. We all, pedestrians, cyclists, and vehicle drivers, have a right to life.

     

  12. Blinded by stupidity says:

    And while we are at it, how about fining those who drive with their high-beams on!

  13. anonymous says:

    Hats off to CI Barrow.  Can you please come back to West Bay?  We need some police presence there.  Not only in front of Kelly’s Bar (2 – 4 cars) on Friday and Saturday nights, but maybe some parking off and waiting for offenders as above.  When they drive past on Stadium Drive and also on Birch Tree Hill Road, there is the attitude that this is a race track and I keep waiting on the "lick" as the elderly would say.  I swear that some cars are doing no less than 40 mph.  Why don’t the sassy officers they have in West Bay start watching for this.  I know if I was a Police Officer, I would have issued a lot of tickets (the ones where you have to go to Court) and collected a lot of money on behalf of Government. 

    We do have some police in West Bay (I can think of about 5 or 6 of them) who are actually human and do not feel the need to "gang up" on the public.  Mind you, some of the persons in West Bay, like in other Districts, need the "daylights knocked out of them". 🙂 But then again, when you get an officer who really gets in your face, then the shoe usually transfers to the other foot and you feel like "knocking the daylights out of them".  I am a little tired, ah heck change that, a LOT TIRED of police who think that because they have a red stripe down their pants and a number on their shoulder, they are the cat’s meow.  Remember boys and girls, you are here "To Serve and Protect" not harass and abuse. 

    On occasion I have had more than one retired officer, and others currently in the force say that they are so embarassed to read about the "antics" of the cops these days, that they almost wish that they had never been connected with the RCIPS.

    GO FIGURE!  We need leadership in West Bay, not a model for "The Latest Adventures in Whiskey Bravo"  HELP

  14. Anonymous says:

    Vehicles driving without lights on should signal to passing RCIP that their drivers are not present in the moment (of vehicle operation), and should draw an inspection.  Very likely their pilots are inebriated in one form or another.  Similarly, drivers operating at 70% or less of the posted limit and impeding traffic flow should trigger an inspection – they are likely too stoned to be safely driving.  Sadly this includes some reckless Taxi and Ominbus ambassadors who feel they have a license to obstruct and regulate traffic flow with impunity. 

  15. Indy Kate says:

    I agreed with D. Wadd.  Can we add failure to indicate right on roundabouts too. ?The crass laziness of most of the drivers on this island when it comes to roundabout ettiquette is shocking.  A couple of evenings ticketing everyone who turns right on a roundabout without indicating might help.

  16. Anonymous says:

    Shame the police don’t show as much enthusiasm when investigating real crimes like the murders and burglaries that are increasing…..it’s much easier to bully the drivers and make a bit of cash for the government

  17. Anonymous says:

    What about drivers with those dazzling blue lights? Asking the police directly is useless, so I will put it in a public forum and hope that someone in law enforcement can give a proper answer to the people.

    Are these dazzling lights illegal or not illegal? If they are illegal (because they are really dangerous to other road users), then what is being done about it? How many successful prosecutions have been accomplished?

    The police can fine someone for jeopardizing their own life without a seat belt, but ignore these arrogant fools that race around with dazzling headlights and jeopardize other road users. The demographic of these offenders is pretty consistent (and don’t deny it), they are mostly young people in Hondas/Muscle SUVs with a cocky attitude wanting to make a fashion statement.

    Where, I ask you, is the sense in that? It will just take one dazzled driver to strike a pedestrian and then perhaps someone might listen. Of course, the poor person who knocks someone down will be sentenced to jail and the real offender will never be caught.

    Who is this new "Top Cop"? What does he think about this. can someone who has access to the ivory tower please ask him?

    Hon. Mr McKeeva Bush, what is your take on this?

  18. Richard Wadd says:

     On the issue of safety, try placing a unit on Eastern Ave. On any given night I encounter vehicles driving there WITHOUT ANY LIGHTS ON. Six (6) last friday night alone.

    I have also noted a few with incorrect license plates (it’s not as difficult as you might think), or expired coupons. 

    It is the potential for the lack of Insurance that scares me most.

    When are we going to pass ‘Cell-phone’ Laws for drivers? How many more people have to get killed before we address this seriously dangerous issue?

    Keep up the good work.