Cops net dozens in road safety crackdown

| 30/07/2012

tint and obsured number plate 2 (265x300).jpg(CNS): Following the first weekend of the RCIPS crackdown on rogue drivers and its promotion of road safety, a police spokesperson said dozens of offences were uncovered at the various roadblocks set up across the Cayman Islands. From drinking and driving to illegal tints, as well as people driving while disqualified, police found many drivers who were breaking the law. Although officers were using their discretion this weekend and in some cases merely warned drivers they were on the wrong side of the law, from now on the RCIPS is operating a ‘zero tolerance’ policy for offences detected and all drivers in breach of traffic rules will be ticketed or arrested.

“On Friday we issued a warning to the public that we would be carrying out this crackdown over the next two weeks,” said Superintendent Adrian Seales, RCIPS Operations. “This weekend we have used an element of discretion in relation to some traffic matters and our message to the motoring public was that if their vehicles were faulty, illegal or unlicensed that they should rectify the situation immediately.

“As of today we will prosecute any and all traffic offences. For example, this weekend people have been given the opportunity to remove illegal tint or be ticketed. From today that option will not be available.”

Police launched the two week campaign on Friday morning with a major road block at Linford Pearson Highway, which caused traffic tailbacks as all drivers were diverted through the block. The goal, according to officers and representatives from the vehicle licensing department, is to improve road safety and fight crime by ensuring registration plates are not obscured and window tints do not exceed the legal limit.

Officials from licensing and police estimate that more than a quarter of all drivers are breaking the law in some way by not having a licence, registration insurance or a road worthiness certificate for their cars.

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  1. Just Commentin' says:

    The direction this country is taking nauseates me! Law enforcement is cracking down with "zero tolerance" on the little man who has darker than allowed window tint on his vehicle or displays an overdue coupon while the dastardly scofflaws that comprise our country's leadership flaut the laws and the constitution with total impunity!  What an illustration of gross inequity!

    We get tickets for minor infractions of vehicle laws while the Premiere and his minions are alleged to have transgressed laws and constitutional requirements and no one is prosecuting them. The country's very future is at stake and yet this situation continues unabated. Where is the zero-tolerance policy when it comes to breaking the laws and regulations that enjoin our leaders?  How can such a vile and reprehensible double standard be allowed to continue? Until I see justice done for all, I spit on the legal system of this country!

    Such a system of double standards as we have now is what foments rebellion and disrespect for the law. One can hardly ask drivers to respect the regulations regarding things like expired coupons and window tint when our leadership seems to have no respect for law and continaully commmits overwhelmingly more serious offenses.  One can not be asked to respect a system that exhibits zero tolerance and prosecutes the little man for minor infractions while it ignores the serious transgressions of its leaders. Makes me sick to my damn stomach!

  2. Frank says:

    How about, instead of holding traffic like usual and forcing everbody to be late, you stand on the side of the road at places like the bottom of South Sound at 5pm. You do not have to hold up traffic as cars trickle past you there. Causing back ups on a bypass is just a massive inconvenience. I'm not saying dont do it, I'm saying be more smart about it.  

  3. Anonymous says:

    I like the sound of hhe cash register ringing! Keep the music playing rcip!

  4. justincase says:

    And if you're going to have a checkpoint have another 2 officers across the road a couple of hundred yards back in each direction to catch the people who see the block and just turn around and drive the other way! Toooo easy! Pulling a U'ey is a sure sign of guilt.. of something.. Probablt cause? Done! ;o)

  5. Anonymous says:

    Police need to start driving around again and ticketing the drivers of open pick up trucks with their workers int he back. have we not yet learned the hard lesson from this when a man was killed a few years ago because he was in the back of an open truck?

    I see it all the time now a days and the drivers have to be stopped and ticketed.

  6. Anonymous says:

    why is this only goingon for two weeks, what are the officers doing otherwise?

  7. Road Cat says:

    Yes and get all those folks with their dogs in their laps and in the front seat not being in full control of their vehicles while you are at it. Yes and get all them police officers chatting away on their cellphones while driving. Practice what you are prosecuting poor people for, now that is not too hard now or is it?????

    • Anonymous says:

      Dogs? What about the people carrying BABIES in their ARMS in the FRONT SEAT? What about the toddlers roaming around in the back seat, standing up on the seat and waving to passengers around them?

      WHAT ARE THESE PARENTS THINKING????? If another car hits them, that baby or toddler or child etc who is unrestrained is going straight through the windshield or the open car windows.

      People here just seem to NOT CARE ONE BIT about car seats for babies and children and it is a REAL SHAME! Dont tell me thye cant afford it! Go to Red Cross or Humane Society or NCVO. They all have car seats very cheap somethimes $5 or $10.

      Sure prosecute those with illegal tint and wrong color headlights, but how about stopping people with unrestrained children and giving the the higestamount ticket possible to remind them that the life of their child is worth 1 million times the price of that ticket.

      • Anonymous says:

        Don't forget the very young kids roaming around the back seat and leaning/hanging out of the open windows – horrifies me every time I see it.

      • Anonymous says:

        Agree 100%. Additionally, one only need drive behind any school bus and see students walking about playing around….while the drivers seem to think they are on a race-track.

        There is sooooooo much illegal driving/traffic violations occurring on our road ALL the time…while the Police ignore it for the most part.

        I have even reported apparent drunk driving to the police station before….only to be treated as if i was causing them a bother!…No thank you….but a rude "we don't have anyone for that now"

        There may be "some" good police here….but the many are NOT earning their keep!

        Enough with the warnings….have REGULAR speed traps and prosecute those breaking the law. That's what you are paid for!

    • carrots and milk says:

      It is LEGAL for drivers to carry infant babies on their laps while driving.  Figure THAT ONE out!

  8. Same old game says:

    Timing is everything please keep adding more pressure to our little society here because it will bring the need and necessary changes so Cayman can finally wise up to what is really going down! Crackdown and draconian measures always have the desired effect in a country. Yes Caymanian ask yourself this yes it was long overdue but Why now???

  9. Anonymous says:

    Glad the police are finally targeting drivers who have very dark tint on their windows. Apart from anything else – how can the driver see properly to drive? I had car once with fairly dark tint on the windows – before i managed to get it off – and I had to drive with the windows open at night so I could see to get out of junctions safely. The poor street lighting in Cayman, (even on the West Bay Road where there are sudden pools of darkness) doesn’t lend itself to driving at night with heavily tinted windows.

  10. Anonymous says:

    Crack down on the morons who tint/obscure their license plates.   So somehow you are cool and 'gangsta' by doing that?  Ooooo….Im scared.   

    Look you hoodrats, the reason you have plates on your car is to identify drivers, and if you obscure the plates, you should be stopped by police and ticketed.   Its so damn annoying that these wannabe thugs can do this.   Why?  You think you are cool?  

    C'mon police, stop these thugettes and enforce the law.   Its all about attitude and respect.  

    (You think you are all that…..come with me to Haiti for a couple weeks and helps some folks out you could use your hand……believe me, those folks will think you are ALL THAT and a bag of chips…….seriously, we can use a hand!!!)

    • Anonymous says:

      Let's not forget those geniuses that think they are Batman tinting their headlights, brake lights and indicators – great, now we can't see you – WTH is the point of that?  After 6pm, give them a ticket for reckless endangerment and another one for being a vain idiot.

    • Anonymous says:

      Gangsta profiling would be welcome.  If you look, talk, and walk like a gangsta, guess what….now you've got a ticket.

  11. Anonymous says:

    Dear Crackdown Teams,

    Don't forget those rib-rattling trucks. They should be easy to track down, because the rogue ones can be heard from over a mile away, and if you're deaf it's not a problem, because you'll  feel them grinding your ribs, even  through your bullet-proof vest. They tend to have half an inch of marl encrusting their number plates, so you might want to bring along a small spade. Please look for evidence of  brakes, as I believe some don't have any. They use their Jake brakes, particularly when passing  the houses of people they don't like. When they decelerate into roundabouts, the crackling explosions sound like calibre-50 machine gun fire. They're very hard to miss. Thank you.

     

    • Anonymous says:

      One of them is running round with 6 inch spikes as wheel nuts too – like something outta BladeRunner!
      Also in most places if your tyres are outside of the whel arch that I’ll not pass inspection so how come it’s ok here or is that yet another example of cronyism and who you know at the inspections pit ?

  12. Anonymous says:

    Get those stupid black plate tint cars… Might as well not have a plate in the first place!

  13. Anonymous says:

    Keep the arrest the more you arrest the more $$$ our govt will get in their pockets & the less they will take from me lol!

  14. I agree says:

    I agree…..there is tons of money to be made off ticketing speeders and people who break the law while driving!…normal cities use law enforcement as revanue !!!

  15. Anonymous says:

    This is how you make our country some money!

    Get dem

    • Anonymous says:

      How many did they caught breaking the road code.And i mean refusing to use their indicators especially at round abouts. i noticed they were set up just west of the round about.

      Can you please publish the different breaches  of the road codes, that happened today. I will give a thousand dollars each  for the charges, for breaching the use of indicators, especially at tthe round abouts.

      • Anonymous says:

        You thumb this down?  you are one of them sombi driving around with your brain in your foot bottom.

        What should be happening here is, the police should charge you all idiots 500.00 for breaching the road code, and send you back to school to learn to drive. 

      • Anonymous says:

        You can't use the indicator when you're really important and holding your phone in your hand. <end sarcasm>

         

        • Anonymous says:

          Don't you know that indicators are only to be used as four way flashers when your towing something.  To use them to indicate your intentions of moving lanes or actually turning is ludicrous.

          I know this is correct because I saw the police towing the portable election vans with their four way flashers on.

      • Anonymous says:

        After being in the right lane, indicating my intention toturn right on the way home from work last night, and being almost run off the road by two idiots also turning right in the left hand lane, without indicators, and then being subjected to verbal abuse and rude hand signals when I tried to take my turn off, which they were obstructing, I can only agree with your sentiments.

        I tell ya, most peeps here need to resit their driving tests, and I am beginning to wonder whether the standards set at driving tests here are enough, coz most people plainly have no clue how to drive responsibly.