Traffic cops issue hundreds of tickets in clamp down
(CNS): Despite warning the driving public that the traffic police would be out in force in the weeks leading up to the Christmas period, Inspector Adrian Barnett, head of the RCIPS Traffic Department, said his officers have still issued literally hundreds of tickets in the last six weeks. Sixty-six people are to appear in court for a total of 79 offences, ranging from driving under the influence to driving without insurance, as a result of the clamp down. However, Barnett said he was disappointed that hundreds of other drivers are committing offences.
Since the start of the campaign, 16 drivers have been charged with DUI, 551 have been detected speeding, 139 have been found not to be wearing seat belts, and 253 tickets have been issued, he said.
“It is almost inconceivable that so many people have chosen to ignore the warnings about the dangers of driving at speed, without seat belts and while under the influence,” Inspector Barnett said. “We said at the start of this campaign that we would be redoubling our efforts and that we would be coming after those who not only flout the law but put themselves and other road users at risk by their irresponsible actions. If you get behind the wheel of car after you’ve been drinking you are putting your own life at risk as well as the lives of innocent road users and pedestrians.”
Police will continue to be out in force during the holidays carrying out road blocks and stop checks on vehicles, as well as actively gathering intelligence about people who are drinking and then driving.
“Don’t forget, alcohol stays in your system for some considerable time – and it’s possible that you may still be over the limit the next day. That’s why we will also be targeting early morning drivers who might still be over the limit,” Inspector Barnett warned.
Anyone who has information about people committing road traffic offences or drinking and driving should contact their local police office.
Category: Local News
Great thinking, the police came up with a plan for some easy money to fund their Christmas parties. Merry Christmas to them from the pockets of all the persons they took from.
I hope that the Police recruits going to school are all Caymanians. I don’t see why we should be paying for expats to go to school. If you hire expats as Police they should be fully trained experienced Police. Its great for Caymanians who want to become Police Officers to go to School to become qualified in all aspects of Police work. My concern is that we now have to pay for expats to become trained, educated Police Officers as my experience has been that many expat Police are pretty much uneducated.
I’m glad tney are busy giving out traffic tickets but what happened to the strong police presence? Hardly see them anymore and the robbers are getting bolder and bolder. In the meantime, we are not even allowed tocarry pepper spray to defend ourselves. What a mess.
When someone decidesthey have had enough and fights back, you can be sure they will be arrested in no time.
OMG the cops are so busy ticketing the crazy driving public that the criminals are having a hey day robbing every business they care to without any fear of being caught and punished.
What a waste of public money the RCIPS is.
We need a more logical speed limit system on Cayman. There appears to be no rhyme nor reason to the current system. There is no norm to which to conform. Couple the current speed limit irregularities with the fact that several roads down which I travel on a daily basis have no signage whatsoever indicating any speed limit, and the result is confused drivers not knowing whether they are permitted to travel at 25, 30 or 40mph. One may suggest that when in doubt stick to the lowest: 25, but this type of driving in an area which the majority may assume to be a 40 zone shall only tick off other drivers and entice overtaking, a much more dangerous hazard than creeping over the speed limit. These are just some of the current speed limits:
1. Grand Harbour roundabout to Spotts – 40mph – there are entrances and exits to and from residential homes, residential roads, grocery stores, Prospect Theatre and Sunrise School etc etc etc. Lots of pedestrians present most times of the day.
2. West Bay Road 40mph – this main road houses every kind of establishment possible and thousands of foot passengers yet we are permitted to drive at 40mph with impunity; whereas
3. Cayman Business Park to Smith Road four way stop 25mph – dual carriage way, rarely a pedestrian in sight, no shops, no schools etc. Hit 30 along here at 2.30am and out screeches PC ‘I Gotcha’ from his hiding place behind the cricket ground pavillion.
Point is; speed limits are there for a reason, yes, BUT please enforce them consistently. Dual carriageways are generally put in place to alleviate traffic problems and provide an alternative route to drivers not wishing to travel through high density areas. Would it not therefore follow that the permitted speed should be 40mph?
Roads that house schools, grocery stores and/or residences on either side should be limited to 25mph or 30mph. Choose one and do away with the connfusing other, particularly if the traffic police are not going to apply any discretion when ticketing those unfortunates found to be driving driving one or two miles over the limit.
Stop the confusion: Adopt a fair and consistent system, get rid of these somewhat aribitrary limitations and put up more signage on the roads so we are enlightenedto that which we are permitted to do.
Merry Xmas!
how many people have been ticketed for having children without proper car seats and or not wearing seat belts? I see it just about evereday in my travels. It is not unusual to see adults in the front seat wearing their seat belts but kids standing up on the back seat. I have even seen people driving with babies in the lap. I guess it will take a child to be seriously injured or killed before people realise just how dangerous this is.
There is a lunatic cop who enjoys following people in their cruiser a mere 2 feet from their rear bumper, even at 40mph highway speeds. He followed me for over 10 miles one night. I saw this same cop giving someone else this menacing treatment the other day. Has anyone else experienced this charmer?
Just hit your brakes suddenly next time, let him pay for rearending your car and that will teach him a lesson.
I can assure you if he does that to me we will know who he is.
Now the premier has money to pay his cook/housekeeper.
The commentators to CNS need to realise that Traffic Cops are exactly that, traffic cops!! The do not investigate murders or robberies. If a member of your family was killed by a speeding driver, then you would be staying "why aren’t they stopping speeders’!
If your car needs to be licensed or insured do it, or if you fail to wear your seatbelt, wear it and you would not be ticketed.
Can anyone explain why it is okay for cars to tint their headlights, indicators and licence plates with impunity? How about unstrapped passengers in the backs of pickup trucks? Is that somehow allowable? The application of the traffic law is so highly subjective, and inconsistant that it is hard for the general public to take these campaigns seriously.
While I am all for the police actually enforcing the law, my only complaint is that minor tickets (such as traffic tickets like speeding, seatbelts, etc) should be payable directly to the court UNLESS there is a dispute. To pay a judge big money to lecturer someone on speeding is crazy. They should be dealing with more important issues, and the time you have to take away from work to go and sit in court for half the day for speeding is just plain dumb.
someone made a good point about the taxis…taxis here are amazingly overpriced and with no meter their charges are also dubious……15 dollars from the wharf restaurant to queens court on WB road…about 5 mins drive! REALLY?!?! Just one of a million examples over the years…if you dont want people to drink and drive provide a viable alternative. And dont boost the prices up after midnight when the bars are closing!!! Illogical to the extreme.
Not surprised taxis increase the price for their service after midnight. Completely logical. Woundn’t you command a premium for your services if provided during the early hours of the morning? High prices might result in some foregoing the taxi option, but if taxi prices somehow were regulated to a lower rate it might result in a decrease in the supply of taxis willingto drive. With less taxis people may not have an alternative to driving.
Great job officers, well done. Now please go and catch some propper criminals. Last I heard you still hadn’t managed to arrest a murderer that walked into a nightclub in front of 150 witnesses and blew someone away. Get out of your little traffic lairs on south sound road and that stupid 25mph zone by Jaques Scotts and head into downtown gangstaville and start earning your wage! Anybody else got any other unsolved crimes for them to investigate please detail below.
Actually I do: The muderers for the late: Marcus Ebanks, young promising Caymanian killed innocently in his area shot with his younger brother and paralyzed young promising caymanian Adrian Powell, Frederick Bise the swiss banker killed and burnt in his car, Carlo Webster killed in Next Level night club, Todd Powery killed in his mother’s yard, Leslie Hydes killed in his area, Mark Jefferson killed on the streets in front of Kelly’s bar all by gun violence with the exception of Mr. Bise.
Attempted murders: too many to mention.
The robberies: Margaritaville, Quick Cash (alleged), two gas stations – Maedac and Northside, the merengue town store, 4Ls grocery northwest Point, Cracked Conch Rest west bay, former Leda’s grocery store, one stop mini market (less than 10 secs from west bay police station), burger king a few years back (waterfront), too many more to mention.
And folks not one of the above cases has been solved. No cold case pursuits – nothing. Now can unna see why blowing unna horn about traffic violations means NOTHING when our community and families, children and friends are crying out for justice for the blood of their loved ones.
Dont come talking foolishness to me. You know wha I getting riled up.
get me some maxwell house so I can calm down lil bit.
It seems a pity they aren’t also tightening up on driving standards within the RCIPS.
I remember sitting outside the Olde English Bakery doing an check on seatbelt wearing for a possible story. As I sat there a cruiser, driven by a sergeant, made the left turn to illegally park alongside the bakery and pick up what I assume was his lunch. He failed to signal the turn (probably because he talking on his cell phone) and wasn’t wearing his seatbelt. And that was a not untypical incident.
I also lost count of the number of times I saw RCIPS officers, some fairly senior, drive home from bars and functions well over the DUI limit.
That comes as no surprise at all John. But you see, they’ll send Average Jill and Joe to traffic court for a stern lecture and a stiff fine, for failing to do X, Y, and Z. Crazy thing is, aside from the thugs and punks, it’s those in positions of authority who are most likely to flaunt the law, because they somehow feel that the law does not apply to them. The hypocrisy in Cayman is incredible, well, and alive.
I’ve seen cruisers race down middle lane with sirens on and pull into Wendy’s drive through. True story.
… then on to the gas station for "emergency" coffee!
When a substance such as alcohol (I won’t call it a drug now, although it has the effects of a drug, has huge social costs and is proven to be addictive) is legal, as it is almost everywhere. And… it is socially acceptable, readily available, purchased easily in stores, in bars and restaurants. And…it iscondoned,advertized on billboards, magazines,and on television as benign and so much fun. Then we all suffer the consequences. As more people become confused by society’s acceptance of this substance/drug they see no problem with getting behind the wheel. It is a drug for crying out loud. There I said it.
Why don’t we treat it as one? Have a safe Holiday Season.
I wonder if this applies to the off-duty cops who will be drinking at Christmas parties and then gets into their cars to drive home in addition to driving to work the next morning? Curious to know if they will also be included in the list of people the police are gathering intelligence on in relation to drinking and driving.
We need to remember that the RCIPS has many different departments, one of which is the traffic department, so before everone start with they should be out catching real criminals instead of stopping motorists etc , please think, at the end of the day motorists that drink/drive and or speed are more likely to kill you and me than a drug dealer/gangsta, so please RCIP keep up the good work, but please make sure that your traffic officers are wearing their seatbelts,not talking on the phone,and indicate when turning, I spend a lot of time on the roads each day and at least once a day I see a police car doing one of the above and Inspector Barnett this includes yourself, lead by example.
License Endorsement System
This type of seasonal, one-off clamp-down does nothing for long-term road safety. Token fines do not hurt enough. Want to know what will really reduce speeding and DUI offences? A driving license endorsement system like they have in the UK. Along with a fine, endorse licenses with 3-points for each offence, and take away licences for 12-months at 12-points. Introduce a system that threatens to take away their wheels and these hooligans of the road will begin to think.
This would be good news if it became the norm for Police to be out on the roads ensuring proper driving habits regularly. However it’s clear that this is NOT the norm, but an excercise for a while.
And the Police really need to learn safe driving habits themselves and lead by example. I cannot count the times i see Police in marked police vehicles talking on cell phones and entering/exiting roundabouts with no signals.
A few officers stationed at any of Cayman’s roundabouts with a camera, ticketing those not using signals (vast majority of drivers) could add substantionally to the Govt. coffers…and increase road safety at the same time.
If only some of the Police were competent in detection of serious crime and the collection and presentation of evidence…
any cop standing beside any roundabout could issue unlimited on the spot fines for people who don’t signal on roundabouts…… why is this notdone??? especially when gov is so broke….. but then again i have NEVER seen a cop car signal on a roundabout
also how come so many cars can go around with illegal window tint?? how??
I think it’s time that the police force themselves went through a driving test or two!!
Their driving in some instances is far worse than any civilian – chatting on cell phones, not signalling, going around the roundabouts in the wrong lane, not signalling, speeding, running traffic lights, and, did I say ‘not signalling’??
They are certainly not leading by example……..!
For most of us that regularly drive Caymans roads this is no surprise. For the police it is a target rich invironment. For the rest of us its just plain dangerous. Because it it so obvious that a large percent of Caymans drivers have terrible driving habits it should also be obvious that to change this the laws need to be continuously inforced for a long period of time to have much of a long lasting effect.
On a good note this should bring in much needed funding for the police to step up the traffic effort. To the police please keep up the good work and please know that many of us are thankfull to see you doing something that will help us all out in the end.
These guys are clearly not trying to get people on their side through becoming part of the public but rather by establishing that there’s a new sheriff in town and he’s going to ticket the hell out of you, for now. First off, drinking and driving in Cayman, while widespread, is largely unavoidable to a certain extent. Taxis are overpriced to the point where a trip home from the bar can cost as much as your bar tab and let’s face it, a lot of people like drinking after work in Cayman, it keeps some of us sane and there’s not much else to spend your play money on.
A few seaside bars and other watering holes depend on hard working/hard drinking Caymanians and expats to keep the lights on. The George Town/West Bay culture is built around eating out and boozing. Again, I’m not defending drinking and driving but just pointing out that its a very thing to put a stop to just by being terse.
The most realistic thing to do is to get the bars to tighten up on how drunk they let people get who they know drove in there. This being Cayman though, that won’t happen. Maybe its time to get a real taxi service, a real bus service and a real alternative to getting to and from the bar. After all, bars were invented to get people drunk at a central location, that worked out very very well until we all started driving cars.
Don’t drink and drive, drink and ask the police to take you to your apartment.
Or have a disignated driver or if you have to drink after work, then simply do it at home and stop endangering the rest of us for your own pleasure, by getting and complaining about taxi’s (rightfully) before stumbling to your car to drive home
Why drink and drive when you can smoke and fly?
Drink and ask the Police to take you to your apartment. Yeah right, you mean the one next to the glass house dont you.
Oh yeah…unna sure got that ticket writing thing down-pack. Yup…expert ticket writers.
Not saying the issues being addressed are not crucial; and, any other time i could sing some kudos. However, in all honesty my good friends in the force: the community really want to hear nothing else from our law enforcers besides catching and prosecuting the thieves, drug runners and gun violence perpetrators.
When we get some success in this area, I believe you will find a joyous open arm public. It is as plain and simple as that. A hard truth but truth nonetheless.
Where is my sanka?
Good to hear this.. but can we PLEASE also clamp down on the dark tint on cars and trucks ? It is dangerous (they can’t see out of it to look for lane changes, roundabout access etc), and it’s also just another part of the "gangsta" culture that is slowly suffocating these islands.
Gangsta culture? I would laugh out loud but I’m at work so it wouldn’t be appropriate. I have my car tinted to the max that the legal limit will allow and I can asure you, it’s not because I’m in a gang. My eyes are particularly light sensitive and the tint certainly helps to keep down the glare while driving. There are actually practical uses for tint.
hey smart one use sunglasses..and to the other lady put one of those sunblockers in ur car..they cost 5 dollars..get a life seriously
How about growing up a little instead of trying to be a smart ass with people? Intelligence and maturity seldom seem to go hand in hand with many people who post on this site, you being no exception.
What makes dark tint dangerous? I am a woman and my car is tinted dark. Does that make me a "gangsta"? No. Quite the opposite. I have a very good job in the finance industry. I can see clearly out of my car and it does not obstruct my view for lane changes, roundabout access etc. The tint serves a purpose which is to protect the interior of the car and reduce the heat that is built up during the day. Why are some high level Govt. vehicles allowed to have dark tint??
If dark tint is illegal, why is it allowed into the Island in the first place? Why is it that the tinting companies are allowed to tint cars with dark tint and charge for this service? Are they not breaking the law and conducting an illegal business when they do this? What about those vehicles that are factory tinted and the tint is darker than the legal limit? How do you address this problem?
GT Vehicle Inspectors have a light meter to test tint level on windows. The perpetrators with super dark tint either go somewhere else for inspection, or tear off their tint for inspection and then reapply afterwards each year. I agree, should be relatively easy to spot the violators in traffic stops. The punks that deliberately tint or obscure their license plates should automatically invite a search for drugs and weapons and should be added to the police watch list.
Excellent – I would like tp report a police car for failing to indicate coming off a round-about (inside lane) with the effect that I was almost T-boned with a small child in the back. I am all for this clamp-down and long may it last, but please guys, lead by example.
Unless you were going round the circle from the outside lane – a huge no-no, there is no way you could have been T-boned by someone going straight ahead from the inside lane.
Heading west past Hurleys Round-about on the South Sound dedicated lane, pausing to give way and noting no cars indicating an intention to leave round-about and the outside lane of the round-about clear, proceeding past the give way sign to suddenly have a police vehicle that I had seen on the inside lane not indicating cut accross the outside and would have hit mehad i not slammed on my brakes.
Make sense to you now?
When driving southbound on Esterly Tibbits Hwy through the Butterfield Roundabout towards GT you will commonly encounter this person’s T-bone scenario. It is common for eastbound traffic originating from Godfrey Nixon Way to charge across in both lanes to funnel into N Sound Rd "Industrial Park". Few bother to signal their intentions. Drive it and you will see exactly what this guy is talking about.
The easy solution would be for the eastbound southern merge lane at Godfrey Nixon Way to become a right turn only lane. Paint the appropriate arrows on the pavement in the merge lane.
Lead by example??? What an absurd notion. Don’t you know that talk is cheaper, and Cayman is full of talk? Sorry to hear about your child almost being hurt – make sure you drive a very large car!
What do you expect from a place where everybody believes themselves above the rules. The law is there for other people, not me.
It all comes down to a lack of respect for the law.
I say catch them, book them and fine them hard. For driving drunk take the licences away, no mercy.
Get them off the roads and on the beat. By making criminals out of regular motorists the Police are alienating the public majority. These are the same public that they need to give them leads to help them solve real crimes, which unless they haven’t noticed has gotten to ridiculous levels for the size of the place.
the regular motorists are criminals — they cannot drive within the laws and it creates a very dangerous situation for everyone else on the roads.
The island isn’t that big — going 5 miles per hour over the speed limit is only going to save you a minute for the whole trip.
Obey the laws — all of them!
If motorists are breaking the law then they are criminals
Is a death caused by a drink drvier any less than one by a gun?.
You want to the police to concentrate on one aspect of crime? the best way is for motorists to stop breaking the law, then the police won’t have to spend so much time on the roads.
So don’t Drink and drive, buy insurance, use your indicators and stop speeding.
By makeing criminals out of regular motorist? That would be funny if it were not true. This should prove that a lot of Cayman Drivers not following the laws of the road and or not even knowing the laws think this is NORMAL or REGULAR driving. You can see by some of the comments that many drivers belive its their right to drive without regard for the safety of other people. Just as from many commentson CNS its very apparent that a lot of people on Cayman belive its their right to not follow any of the laws that keep a country civilized. This should explain a lot of the problems here.
It should be apparent also by now that education is the only way to change things here and everyone here knows that good education is not something that cayman leaders want very much for their voters. (wonder why?)