Driver escapes sinking car as cop campaign continues

| 07/12/2010

(CNS): A 23-year-old woman had a lucky escape after her car ran off the road into a dyke in the early hours of Sunday morning. The driver reportedly lost control of her vehicle on the Newlands bypass near Prospect Primary at around 3:53am. She managed to get out of the car before it became fully submerged and swam to the bank from the vehicle, where a passing motorist called 911. The accident came at the end of the second week of Operation Rotate, a campaign by police to crackdown on poor driving. This was one of 56 accidents between 29 November and 6 December reported across the Cayman Islands.

The female driver suffered a slight hand injury and was wet and cold when the emergency services arrived and was taken to the Cayman Islands Hospital for treatment. No one else was in the vehicle at the time of the incident. Police said that further enquiries are now being made and any witnesses are asked to contact Traffic Management on 946-6254.

This is not the only near miss this week. Police are also investigating another incident where a driver managed to mount the roadside barrier along the east-west arterial road, also near the Prospect Primary roundabout.

Over the past week police have conducted ten road blocks as part of the Christmas and New Year campaign. As officers have highlighted drinking under the influence as a particular concern, they have conducted 67 breath tests but arrested only five drivers for DUI. However, over the last seven days officers have issued 61 traffic tickets and 43 speeding tickets and have arrested six for other traffic violations, including two people for driving whilst disqualified and another driver, who is accused of displaying licence plates with intent to deceive.

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  1. Anonymous says:

    Before everyone goes on with the need for a barrier and the need for more street lamps, please consider that there are plenty country roads in the US and Euorpe that do not have barriers on every corner and street lamps on every utility pole! In fact, there are many mountain roads in this world who do not have any barriers at all and people need to drive them daily. Have you ever driven in the mountains in Jamaica????

    We can’t put the entire Island in bubble wrap in an effort to prevent accidents just because some people drive carlessly and refuse to take responsibility for themselves.

    If you drink – don’t drive!

    If you are tired – don’t drive!

    If you have a hard time seeing at night – slow down!

     

  2. Anonymous says:

    when you live on an island, it’s a good idea to be a good swimmer if you’re a crappy driver 

  3. Field Marshall says:

    This is the second time an accident like this has occur. They need to place the barriers on this stretch of road. Someone gonna get killed. Suppose they had more occupants in the vehicle? Or even children or lil baby?

    Come on now NRA, please provide the metal barrier before its too late.

    Don’t play Russian Roulette with the motoring public.        

    • inside job says:

      good point…..put up barriers everywhere to keep drivers on the road – or

      dont drink and drive

       

    • Anonymous says:

      The answer to this is, slow your xxx down, and use your indicators. I’m still waiting to see our traffic manager, Mr. Barnett place traffic cops at the roundabouts. They will be busy writing tickets all day long.

      In the country (England )where he  came from,  if you break the traffic law by not using indicators you will be charged for breach of the traffic law, it is a traffic offence.

      There are drivers who speed  through on the roundabout, and do not pay attention to the yield signs , many times i have to slow down in front of them to let them know they have to yield when entering the roundabout.

      Lets get your cops out there Mr. Adrian, before more lives are lost.

      • Anonymous says:

        I’m fairly sure there is no specific offence of ‘not indicating’, it may be covered by ‘undue care and attention’ if you were to specifically cause an accident by not indicating, but even that’s a stretch as you are also expected to consider the car’s speed and change (or not) in direction and not solely the cars indicators.

        As for slowing down at a roundabout in front of a driver just because you don’t think the driver will give way, you may find you cause an accident in doing so.  Besides entering a roundabout is all about timing your entry to the speed of the traffic on the roundabout and trying to judge the gap so you fit into the flow without disrupting the traffic on the roundabout, just as any ‘give way’ junction is.

        There are many, many bad driving habits out there and I guess we all have our bugbears that wind us up.

         

    • Joe King says:

      Problem easily solved!

      Learn to drive!!!!

    • Anonymous says:

      or people could drive more carefully, not to jump to conclusion but driving around very late on a saturday night…….

    • Anonymous says:

      Yes that’s right, put up metal barriers so rather than having a soft landing in the swamp, she would have ploughed straight through her windscreen.

      I have driven along that road and there is no need for barriers if one is driving responsibly. These are quite wide lanes aswell.