Cops start zero tolerance
(CNS): With sufficient warnings about the new traffic law, which was implemented on Friday, the police say they will now be enforcing a zero tolerance policy on road offences introduced or reinforced in the new law. From motorists who text or use phones without a hands-free set to those splashing pedestrians when carelessly driving on wet roads, cops will be ticketing all rogue drivers. The new traffic regulations came into effect on 21 September heralding the long awaited traffic law passed in November. and police were out in force on Friday checking and collecting data regarding traffic offences, in particular making sure that drivers were aware of the new rules regarding phones.
Superintendent Adrian Seales said police were encouraged that the majority of people seem to be adhering to the law by either using hands-free kits or not using the cell phones at all.
“It's clear that the education we have carried out with our partners in other agencies, the media and cell phone companies has, so far, been relatively successful. However, be assured that we will continue to rigorously enforce the law and target those who fail to abide by it," he added.
Police said Monday that just one person has received a ticket for talking on their phone while driving without a hands-free set.
Alongside the partial mobile phone ban in the car, amendments to the law to introduce careless driving could even see motorists significantly out of pocket for splashing pedestrians in wet weather.
“If someone drives through a puddle and splashes someone they can be charged with careless driving,” Seales said. “If the person goes to court, obviously it is left to the magistrate to levy a fine and it could be as much as $500.”
Other offences that fall under careless driving include using hazards when not in an emergency situation or driving with the full beam or high beam when other motorists are approaching. Although police say towing and impounding vehicles will be a last resort, they will be clamping down and ticketing illegal parkers.
Meanwhile, the 2012 edition of the new road code for the Cayman Islands is available from the all of Department of Vehicle & Drivers' Licensing (DVDL) locations on Grand Cayman and Cayman Brac.
"In addition to being bigger, the new Road Code has more detailed descriptions and is a more comprehensive guide of what is expected of road users,” said DVDL Deputy Director Richard Simms.
The 2012 Edition provides illustrations on how to navigate a roundabout, has updated signage and describes how all road users should conduct themselves, including horse riders, people who walk their dogs, pedestrians and cyclists.
For more information go to dvdl.gov.ky or call 945-8344. DVDL has two locations on Grand Cayman: Crewe Road DVDL Headquarters. Opening hours: 8:30 a.m. to 4:00p.m., Monday to Friday. Banks Plaza West Bay: 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., Tuesday to Friday and 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Saturday. Cayman Brac: District Administration Building Opening hours: 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday to Friday.
Category: Crime
New Road Code available online here:
http://gazettes.gov.ky/sites/default/files/extraordinary-gazettes-supplements/Es352012_web.pdf
Most island drivers do not use turn signals, and they ignore those who do. In fact, if you see a signal blinking on a car , you may rest assured that it was on when the car was purchased.
The subject is very laudable if it is ever enforced after the initial 'clampdown' ….. …….and although I never answer my cellphone when I'm driving anyway (and I am hopeless at texting so that's out 🙂 – I am going to invest in one of those bluetooth thingies for the ear just in case….
and while we're at it it – why don't we add to the list of matters that seem to bypass any action being taken……….Bicyles….. perhaps the Police could include in any Ads or Guidelines they publish to remind cyclists to ride on the correct side of the road (which is on the LEFT – WITH the traffic, not against it).
Police seem to do nothing about people riding bicycles (which are still vehicles!) on the wrong side of the road – they even had a commercial about the right way to approach a roundabout and there was a guy riding his bicycle on the Right Hand Side – against the traffic! Why shouldn't I try it with my car if nothing is going to be done to me ?? (except I have common sense).
And another of my BIG pet peeves is Drivers who SLAM their brakes on to turn left or whatever and THEN AFTERWARDS put their indicator/trafficator on AFTER they already started to turn …..This is dangerous and can cause accidents (and yes, I know that the driver in rear should leave sufficient braking distance but in reality this is not always possible or practical) ….
or people who hit their brakes every time they see an oncoming vehicle ?!?!!!??? – (Dangerous Driving, folks) !!
In any event, correct procedure is to indicate first (in good time to alert the driver behind you….THEN brake to turn…
This ban will only add to the already-huge wave of police abuse and corruption, as now RCIP officers can harrass anyone they have personal vendettas with, by simply saying "I saw you talking on the phone". Great!
Haha !
All these new traffice laws from a country which only now has decided to licence professional driving instructors ! zzzz
But hhey don't worry folks, there will be no police cars left to catch anyone soon – saw another Suzuki bashed up on a low loader today !
So today a Bus pulls out at Caybrew into oncoming traffic, goes all the way down to the car wash hugging the traffic all the way and forcing oncoming traffic to change lanes.
It was a crappy old bus which was white on the top half and yellow on the bottom. Unfortunately I didn't get his license plate, but I do hope he drops a brick on his foot today and can't drive again until they do something about this crappy situation.
And posting a cop at the school only stops these bastards doing it that day, next day they are back to their life threatening driving. You need to catch them in the act and fine the p****s up the a**e.
He must be friendly with the driver of a gray/white van with "Noah" printed on the side who drove straight up my bum at the Camana Bay roundabout this morning, honked his horn a few times to say hello to his buddy in the lane beside him (who loudly honked his horn back…both of them now looking at each other and waving while everyone else frantically looked about to see what all the honking was for — notice no one's eyes are now on the road), changed lanes in the roundabout and then roared past me to weave in and out of traffic at who knows how many miles per hour all the way past Foster's and beyond. All I know is, I was going the full speed limit and he blew by me like I wasn't even there. You know who you are…
I think you get an exemption from all traffic laws if your bus or taxi has a large sticker with a religious message on it.
Only one public bus like that and its driven by a woman 🙂 No registration required!
Splashing pedestrians should have been dealt with under the sexual offences section of the penal code, not the traffic law.
All,
One of the things that the Police or the AG needs to look into ant that is this “Road Adversely” alert on that is set up via FaceBook. One has to be invited to get sign up via FB. Messages are being sent via FB and copied to BBM and these messages are then forward all around the BBM network. As far as I know it’s just BBM.
There are other mobile phones delivery applications that can carry these messages such as Whatsup, Tweeter, Tango and many, many other applications.
The problem I have with this is; it sends out the wrong information by telling road users to avoid the police. To avoid where they are hidden etc. If we continue to do this, we are in fact helping the drunk drivers and others that break the law to continue their new habits, bad habits, stealing habits or what you to avoid the law by any means necessary . When someone gets killed or a love one is knocked down by the drunken driver who got the message to avoid such and such a road block then what?
We keep complain that the police is not doing enough but we turn around a shot ourselves and the community/society in the foot by accepting such shorts on the law. Am afraid we are not helping one bit Cayman. You want to do something great for your community, for this island for the little amount of Caymanians and its residents? Use your time to save lives by setting up an adverse alert group to call in on those tinted windows, tinted license plates and those tinted light covers to saves lives.
Make yourself useful for a better Cayman Islands.
Craig Merren
President Cayman Islands Cycling Association
So we are supposed to break the law by texting information to this group while driving? Or am I missing something?
Dear Mr. Merren,
Could your members please cycle in single file rather than driving several abreast and reacting aggressively to drivers they are blocking? Just because middle aged men dress in lycra does not mean they can behave like pros on the Tour De France.
Thank you.
CPK
Damn I second that comment – too bloody right!
I wish the cops would start zero tolerance against the hundreds of burglaries and thefts that are plaguing Cayman to death because the culprits know only too well they can get away with it.
And the latest new graffiti epidemic…
Splashing pedestrians just became even more fun, because now it is illegal too.
Double points for tourists.
I guess the local window tinting companies who must have good connections, must be experiencing a real boom in business right now, adding to the thousands of vehicles which already will completely escape convictions under the new traffic law as nobody can see inside them.
My Truck had lightly tinted windows which were built into the glass and I had the hardest time once with a vehicle inspection trying to convince them that a) they were not installed by me or a tinting firm b). they we not removable.
If these type of inbuilt tints were not allowable – they should not have permitted the Auto Sales people to import them – or they should have not allowed them on the road from the Dealer.
I got hassle for my tints (which were within the legal limit) – but I see dozens of dark and even BLACK tints with mirror like reflections obviously going unnoticed.
Tell that to the taxi driver pulling out of First Caribbean House at 12:30 staright into traffic without giving way and the proceeding up Shedden road at 15mph, yapping away on her cell phone the entire time.
Taxi drivers are, well, different. I suggest you go to their permanent taxi stand right in front of Fosters Strand and voice your concerns.
And the taxi driver that pulled up to pick up cruise ship passengers at the traffic lights on North Church Street this morning, so that once they were on green, none of us who were waiting and on our way to work, could get past.
And I so wish the cops would park at every roundabout between town and Prospect at rush hour each day to catch the NUMEROUS drivers who are in the left lane turning right, and right lane turning left, almost causing collisions to those who are driving correctly on the roundabouts – its sickening and it happens each and every single day on almost every roundabout on-island.
My issue with the police zero tolerance policy is that it lasts a couple of months and then no one seems to care any more. Case in point? window tinting. Big splash about it, and now no one cares to enforce the law. It is all or nothing with the police. How about enforcing all of the laws all of the time?
This cell phone ban will be the hardest law to enforce if challenged in Court.
For starters:
1- It is the word of the officer against mine.
2- Where is the recorded evidence of the officer actually seeing me talking on the phone. Police units here do not carry cameras to even help assist. For all he knows I was scratching my ear or brushing something out my hair momentarily.
3- at a rate of speed between 25 and 50 mph can he say for certain he saw me on a phone? No he cannot
4- without a search warrant the officer cannot see my call list to see if a recent call was made and if there was I would had done delete the number logged before he approached my car so that it shows no time.
Pointless law like the rest of them.
Idiot. All phones and networks have activity reports, so they will just pull up whether the phone was active at the time you were stopped. But please do feel free to think you are immune from the law and can get away with it.
Problem is once the bill of rights comes in the police will no longer have the power to do whatever they want so I don't believe they will actually be able to look at your physical phone as it is private property. They could go to the provider to check your call logs but that's assuming the phone is in your name, not a friend's phone. Either way, it could cost alot of money in the courts and who pays my lawyer fees if I actually was just scratching my ear?
This would be the Fantasy Made Up Bill of Rights is it? I bet you learned all your law from Jay-Z lyrics.
Using the phone is an offence, therefore the phone itself is evidence and seizable. People like you really think they know it all, and all it does is get you more into trouble.
oh yea try that. The phone can be taken to the phone company and they can retrive all times the phone was being used to co incide with the officers report. Fool.Fool.
Most modern phone log all calls including the time the call was made. Your phone will be included as evidence against you for trying to be too smart.
Are you serious? I think you have never left this Island in your entire stupid life. Almost everywhere else in the world enforce this law and it works. For ignorant people like yourself this will be a wake up call when you do get caught, and I hope you do. There is nothing worse than losing money to stupidity (i.e….I won't get caught) you can't fix stupid.
There's the time the ticket was issued and your cell phone record for starters… If it's the law and there's reason to believe that you were breaking the law, they would be able to seize your records…
Not that this will prove to be a successful law (like the rest of them). There's so many easier ways of making safer our roads and if it's fines their after – there are several places and violations (many mentioned already on here) that can be cracked down on.
………..and the Police are really going to go this far????????? Yeah right! Another waste of the court's time.
Wow! They've already ticketed one (that's O-N-E) lawbreaker for using a cellphone. That's reallycracking down!
I have buddies who have been nailed for window tint as of recent yet "certain persons" still have theirs tinted for the whole island to see.
Just checking if this law will also be enforced with the new "zero tolerance" attitude?
5 out of 10 drivers on the phone- I counted today.
How many accidents?
15:49, I do not think that is funny. If someone runs over a person or runs into the back of another car then they will wish they has obeyed the law. I am going to call the 911 and report when I see some one driving and phoning. Dont worry I have hands free.
I know this is a good law, because I myself were guilty of doing this and many times almost got into an accident. Now I have hands free and if the call is not important I politely say call me when I am home in half an hour. If the call is urgent I pull over the side of the road. Come on Cayman use your heart and you senses, there is nothing wrong with passing the law. I have only one thing to say about it. The fine should have been 500.00 dollars.
Maybe it was a police officer who got splashed in plain clothes. Hint:don’t stand close to settled water.
I know what, when coming to a puddle I will brake and get rear-ended rather than splash a pedestrain. Which is more dangerous?
Whats more dangerous is the moron tailgating way too close behind you who is not able to stop in time when you brake. Luckily accidents like that are the fault of the car behind.
In case everyone has forgotten, everyone is required to keep a reasonable distance from the car in front so you can react in time should the car in front brake.
You are fighting culture here.
My friend just past her driving test. Having noted the same tailgating incidents you have I asked her what she was taught in relation to safe driving distances when behind another vehicle and was astonished to learn that all she was told was to keep one car's distance behind. Needless to say I have now taught her to do more than this, and showed her information from the UK Highway Code in relation to safe driving distances depending on the speed you are travelling. Why is this not an integral and important part of the process when learning to drive and passing your test?
12:36 do really have to tell you what to do.? Obviously when you see a large puddle of water up ahead, all you do is gently slow down and passthrough it. Was not that very easy?
Ok about the person behind you; I hope both of you know how many casr lengths you have to stay behind. So if that person is climbing on your back and rear end your car. If you are well just get out of your car use your cell phone and call the police or politely speak with the driver of the other car. If they can and agree to pay without the police involvement then get all the necessary including a signed paper saying they agree to pay, look at their insurance and licence, and I trust that all will go well.
It appears you were born behind the wheels. What goes around comes around. Remember that.
I think you just defined the wheel.
Seems the Police need eye examinations then!
I see many, many people still using phones while driving. And children standing in the car while driving.
And the Police could rake in money in fines by ticketing those at roundabouts who don't signal!
And the way bus drivers (private and school/public buses) drive is very unsafe…stopping anywhere they feel like and kids standing/walking about in buses.
I'll beleive the Police when I see them effectively dealing with the many traffic violations on a regular basis…rather than mostly lip service!
And by Police leading by example…I've yet to see a Police car using signals at roundabouts!
Well darn, if they could get everyone in the left lane of a roundabout turning right, and in the right lane turning left, then we could recover from the recession in very short time!
There would be no need to increase cost of work permits if road Police didits job.
There would have been no need to increase the cost of anything had Mac done his job!
I would like to see the school bus that has a habit of stopping on the Grand Harbour with his red lights flashing to let kids off to go to Hurleys, ticketed. It just isnt safe to stop on a roundabout at all. He doesn't even pull over to the side, just plain stops and expects all the traffic on the roundabout to stop. Seems you need no qualifications to drive a school bus.
I'm with you on your post 12.06 and talking of buses….. I thought that they had introduced a new Law which gives those Minibuses the right to just pull out (from any drop off point at the side of the Road) into moving traffic without indicating or hesitating to see if anyone is slowing down to let them into the lane ???
This happens to me all the time and there has been several near misses where they just plough ahead into the traffic………… ( Same thing with some of those big Flatbeds or Rigs that think they are entitled to just 'bully' and pull ahead of you from a side road 'because they are BIG BOYS ) .
Could you please advise what the law is here for car seats for children? I am appalled at how many toddlers I can see climbing around in the back (or sometimes front) of the car in front of me!
Zero tolerance on splashing pedestrians. Wait until you are time barred from bringing any charges before completing investigations into alleged corruption.
Change the Speed limit on North Sound Rd while you are at it Po Po's!!!
Can you contact DVDL and tell them to put the bloody publication on their homepage? It's nowhere to be seen on the website. We should have access to this information online without having to buy a written copy!
For pete's sake!
Traffic Law:
http://www.gazettes.gov.ky/extraordinary-gazette-supplements/2011/12/12/traffic-law-2011-ex108-s1
Traffic Regulation with Road Code:
http://www.gazettes.gov.ky/extraordinary-gazette-supplements/2012/17/09/traffic-regulations-2012-ex90-s9
Sorry the following has the Road Code, Traffic Control Regs:
http://gazettes.gov.ky/sites/default/files/extraordinary-gazettes-supplements/Es352012_web.pdf
For all the other regs see the gov.ky website then follow link to Gazettes. All the traffic regs are in extraordinary Gazette Supplements
I emailed and asked for a copy. You have to go to the DVDL office and purchase a copy
It is updated (the website) once every 3 years…you know Caymanian time
The Traffic Law 2011, plus 11 new Traffic Regulations 2012 along with the Commencement Order were all posted on the DVDL website under the "Legislation" tab before Friday 21st September. http://www.dvdl.gov.ky/portal/page?_pageid=3061,7066495&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL
Congratulations to Director, Mr. Dixon and Deputy Director, Mr. Simms for a sterling job.
C. Scott
I live in Prospect and going by the Red Bay primary school I see people going AT LEAST 40 in a zone marked 15 (when the light is flashing). This actually happened yesterday in front of a cop and all he did was give the guy a warning. Not to mention Istill see people making right hand turns into and out of Lakeside. Zero tolerance my…
The carelessness of the people that do these sort of things is criminal. They need to go to jail but instead the cops chat them up and release them with nothing but a warning. Pathetic.
Likewise, I was driving to Prospect Park at about 3pm yesterday aftnoon. The school zone light was blinking so I slowed to the posted 15mph. I had at least 4 vehicles go speeding past me in total disregard to the law.
The Cops should be on patrol at these school zones when the light is flashing, they would be ableto collect enough fines to cover the police budget in no time.
Many of these driver do not have a licence or is just learing. The policehasto be more vigilent on sow drivers. They do not have licence. PULL THEM OVER,
Please also fine
1. those morons who have children in their lap or have children standing up in the back seat
2. the drivers of cars where the license plate can not be clearly read or where the windows are tinted too dark
3. the taxi drivers who feel they can just pull over anywhere it suits, even if it puts others at dangers. The alltime classic is the one in front of Baptist church across from the Lion's Center when they just stop in the lane cause they can't be bothered to pull into the parking lot
4. the dump truck drivers who have their load uncovered and spilling all over the road and other vehicles
and the list goes on and on
However, I have driven for the last 5 years between Newlands and town several times per day. I have not seen ONCE a cop pulling someone over for any traffice offenses. Not ONCE. So I don't expect that there will be all of the sudden a swar of police out there enforcing the law.
Here Here! I'm actually daring the police to enforce ANY traffic law let alone the new ones. Yesterday I crossed a man talking on his cell phone while pulling out of Seven Mile Esso, police passed in front of him and yes, you guessed it, cop kept going and said man continued with his phone call while pulling into traffic. I posted before that the government does not need new traffic laws they need a police staff overhaul. The police on this island are either lazy or scared.
Totally agree. Yesterday, trying to turn make a right turn into Snug Harbour, I waited while not one, but three drivers waited in a row in the middle of the road to make a u-turn from a busy road into oncoming traffic. All three were on their phones.
I live in Snug Harbour, and when I want to go to Foster's, I have to turn left, go to the roundabout, and turn back — a dangerous exercise given that most of the othercars around which I have to navigate are speeding, changing lanes in the roundabout, not bothering to signal etc. And then when I want to turn back into Snug Harbour, I have to dodge u-turners who speed into the turning lane in front of me and cut me off to perform a completely illegal turn. It's a bloody circus out there.
But is not turning right out of Snug Harbour also an illegal move ?
He said into.
I know – read it again. Poster seems to be saying that turning left out of Snug Harbour is more dangerous than trying to illegally turn right !
Couldn't agree more. The problem is the police are too reliant on the 'old boy network' and no one is brave enough to speak up. When they do, they just get 'not renewed'. Most Caymanians within the police there don't care enough to change things for the better anyway, as then their cushy little jobs will change. And yes, I do know, only too well, of the nation raping that goes on by the 'officers' within the ares hips. I was there, spoke out about unlawful and unethical practices, and got thrown off the island for my troubles. Well you knwo what? Rot in your own filth then.
Traffic law? What an open to taking bribes and corruption joke. Go and catch some real criminals, solve some real crimes, do something constructive and contributory to your community you bunch of useless uniform coat hangers.
Don’t splash pedestrians, run over green iguanas, dont speed and don’t indicate – while I text and drive
Can you also please do something about the cop that parks his car in a handicapped parking lot every day when picking up his kid from a private school? First he parked under a "no parking sign" – now he is in a handicapped parking spot. Priceless!
A photo is worth a thousand words, and in this case a healthy dose of humble pie.
Put that smartphone to good use and take picture with the license plate in clear few.
Circulate by bbm, CNS, facebook and let’s see what happens.
Social experiment anyone?
Just another waste of public funds! when the Goverment was seeking new means of revenue they should have examined the possiblity of issuing tickets to the ever annoying dimwitts that drive 25 in a 40 and 35 in a 50 mile zone. I guess some people just have no life!
It seems that you are the one not having a life, just hurrying..In a blink of an eye it will be over and you did not have time to live. Just ask yourself why? Us, driving slow, after all, enjoying the present, living now. This is a tourist's destination after all. Why should they hurry?
Please stop the selfish w*****s who pull out red bay primary (sometimes as far back as the brewery) and sneak back in at the car wash. I would love to see someone ram them into the car wash carpark.
I see the explanation to use a roundabout on front page, perfect if we have four lanes entering and four lane exiting, they need to show how to enter from two lanes and exit onto one, I for one am getting annoyed at being in the right lane only to have someone use the outer lane as an overtaking lane.
Has there ever been any statistics on how many accidents occur in roundabouts? Just wondering………. How about it, CNS. (?)
I think they should put signs up before the roundabouts showing which lanes people should use then they wouldn't have any excuses.
The Road Code is being updated too and the law is now clear on roundabout driving that you don't get into the left lane to turn right or vice versa… not that it will make one iota of difference in reality, as I am sure I will still almost get run off the road every night be the numerous offenders of this law. I must see at least 5-6 such occurrences on roundabouts every night on my way home… you have to have eyes in the back of your head to avoid a crash when exiting a roundabout in this place.
11:31, that would be common sense, but alas it also costs money to make these signs and erect them which our powers that be would rather spend on trips to Greenland.
Then paint arrows on the lanes leading to the roundabout as is the practice in most other countries. Its not rocket science!
If you have two lanes at the entrance to a roundabout and only one lane to exit (going straight over) then I'm afraid those 'overtaking' you are correct, left lane is the usual lane to take, unless there are signs on the road to indicate otherwise (like the mini roundabout near Fosters airport).
They may be in the correct lane, but there is no overtaking allowed in a roundabout – ever!
You should stay in the left lane. Only use the left or right lane if there are two lanes on the exit you are taking.
I'd prefer they provide some education on how to use the turning lane. It is for merging on an off, not for idiots to use as their own priviate speeding and passing lane.
If the government want to introduce splashing fines into legislation, how about they introduce better drainage systems across the island, because some roads are completely flooded in the heavy rains making it impossible to drive through them without splashing up water.
Don't the RCIPs realize that whenever they give the same stale line about "zero tolerance toward crime" that it just makes them look foolish because it assumes that prior to this announcement that they tolerated crime…
1st – I guess the Police feel it is more prudent to swerve into on-comming traffic to avoid splashing some idiot too stupid to come in out of the rain. 2nd – Prove that I was on the phone while driving! I was just scratching my ear and singing to the radio! The only way to prove it is to pull me over and demand my phone which is a human rights violation as of November 2012. Creating unenforsable laws to harass the general public makes us no better than the Milk Cows being fed on by the stazi in the US. Enforce the laws that are ruining this island like Home Break-ins and Rape. Leave the rest of us alone! PS- These "Stop and Check" road blocks are also a violation of our civil rights, and I am aloud to carry a double bitted axe in my car because there is no law against wielding an axe 🙂
aloud?
What about giving way? That's a rule I'd love to see enforced in Cayman. If another car has the right of way you can't push in in front of it (and apply it to buses and taxis). Also stopping at red lights instead of speeding on through. I reckon that would do a lot more good than enforcing a rule about splashing in puddles. If there's any time left over I'd like to see them enforce correct use of roundabouts and keeping to the left lane when possible.
The splashing predestrians thing is a joke. If it is pouring with rain outside and the road is flooded #1. I am not hitting my brakes to make a smaller splash and risk getting rear ended by somebody and #2. That person will probably be wet anyway.
Also the BIGGEST problem on the road are the bus drivers!! Twice in the last week i have has one drive through a red light and pull right in front of me by Delworths Esso. One of them actually overtook a car that had stopped at the red to make it through. They pull over with no signals, stop in the middle of the road, never use their signals, talk on the phone, pull out in front of people forcing them to stop and run red lights 24/7 yet you never see one pulled over or ticketed. Get on it!
They all faamily
Completely agree about the bus drivers. However, if you are driving so fast in busy traffic on a rainy day that you have to slam on your brakes and risk getting rear-ended by the driver behind you, you are probably driving too fast to begin with. You should already be driving more slowly when the roads are wet — particularly in school zones such as the Smith Road/Walkers Road area the original poster mentioned or where there are generally a lot of pedestrians.
I actually think the taxi drivers are worse than the bus drivers. But worse still are all the car drivers on Fort Street who just love to pull out ON A RED LIGHT onto North Church Street every single night after 5 pm whether or not the road is ahead clear and there is oncoming traffic.
Sometimes splashing pedestrians cannot be helped, for example busy main road (Smith Road near the cricket field) floods quite often near the Cayman Prep junior school are we seriously expected to swerve into oncoming traffic just to avoid getting somebody wet, people will eventually dry off versus a head on collision let me think which option I'll be choosing when considering the new "splashing pedestrian" rule!
"Police were out in force on Friday…." – where were they then?
I want a law for the idiots who constantly don't know where their indicators are located on their vehicles. There's a couple of storks either side of your steering wheel if you've ever wondered what they are for try pushing them up and down and see if a little green light starts flashing next to your speedo, guess what you've cracked it, you've found the elusive indicators now bloody use them before you get people killed!
"are we seriously expected to swerve into oncoming traffic just to avoid getting somebody wet,"
———————————-
Try slowing down……
How about you do the "unthinkable" you idiot and just slow down and roll through the puddle so you dont soak the pedestrians!! Just imagine for a second the cursing you would roll out if you were the one that got splashed! But then you would "eventually dry off" wouldn't you!!!!!
Most splashing occurs because drivers can't be bothered to slow down. If you slow down to a crawling speed while driving through the puddle, a pedestrian may get a litte splash but won't get soaked from head to toe. I think this is what they are referring to.
How about the idiots who see oncoming cars and still walk behind puddles. There are two ends to this nonsense.
I personally find this to be a stupid law. Cars do not intentionally splash people. They are paying attention to everything else on the road such as cars behind them with bright lights on, other cars trying to pull out. I believe when we do this we could create more issues than its worth.
People who are walking need to look at where they are walking. DO NOT WALK BEHIND A PUDDLE WHEN CARS ARE COMING. It's really simple.
All the other laws I see are fine. No one should be using cellphones while driving. Agreed. But this splashing is stupid and petty if you ask me. Not something you put into a law. It's more ethical than legal.
It's more ethical than legal?? Where do you suppose our laws come from in the first place? Could it be…ethics?
A poster above commented that he or she could not avoid driving into puddles on Smith Road without having to a) swerve into oncoming traffic or b) splash pedestrians. If the road is this tight and the traffic so bad, where do you suppose pedestrians should go to avoid walking near puddles when cars are coming?
If you are oblivious to a human being on the side of the road, you really should not be driving.
Sometime there is nowhere else to go and people have to go places like work for example. Not everyone has a car. Stop and give that person a ride. Cayman kind?
Another option might be to slow down a bit…usually works for me.
I am sure the reason for introducing the "splashing" offense is not for cituations when it is impossible not to splash. It is for intentional disregard for others dignity- when you could, but decided not to slow down and avoid splashing.
I agree, actually I'm pretty sure ( but don't quote me) that spalshing a pedestrian has always possibly been an offence under UK traffic Law – possibly driving without due care and attention ??
Also, again not sure but pretty sure you are not supoosed to make 180 turns (u-turns) at mini roundabouts either – anyone wanna look either of these up ?
Dear Mr. Seales while u are at it, can the traffic department also do something about drivers who never drive the speed limit, and I’m not talking about the speeders. If the speed limit is 40mph then u should drive just that or the allowed 5mph over, don’t drive 30mph just because you’re going down the road and you can be there in two minutes either way. Drivers who drive below the speed limits are just like the nuisances who drive above the speed limit.
But splashing pedestrians is fun. I am not careless at all when I do it, I am very careful to make sure I get them.
I know. It takes all the fun out of a rainy day.
I mean they are wet anyway, so what is the harm? You get double points for tourists.
Funny! Funny! Funny!…
What about the old regulation of having to use turn signals in order to let other drivers know your intentions?