Road smashes and offences still increasing
(CNS): Despite various campaigns and road safety clamp downs, the number of accidents and offences on Cayman’s road continues to increase. Six people were killed in Cayman during 2013, one more than the year before, but collisions overall grew by 122 or 11% to a whopping 1,206 road smashes over the 12 month period in 2013. Averaging more than 100 a month, the worst month was January when 276 crashes were reported, an increase of 136% compared to January 2012 and in the immediate wake of the RCIPS annual clamp down. Traffic offences increased by 334 to 6,569 during 2013, compared to 6,235 the year before.
Alongside the release of the increasing crime statistics for 2013 this week, the police have also revealed the ongoing issues relating to Cayman’s drivers.
Although speeding offences fell dramatically, down by 53%, and DUIs more modestly by 15%, officers had clearly turned their attention throughout 2013 to the new offence of using a mobile phone behind the wheel and ticketed 1,364 people. November saw the highest number of people fined $100 for using their phone, indicating that even after more than a year of implementation the new rule was having little or no impact on behaviour.
See traffic statistics below (scroll down past crime statistics to page three).
Category: Crime
There should be a nationwide education on roadsafety specially the right use of runabout. A lot of people in the island has unclear understanding of it. Most people I encountered thought they know they have the right of way, but in fact they do not realize that there are 2 lanes and just cant go another lane without proper signal.
The use of a Runabout? Isn't that an old beaten up car used by students and as second cars to "runabout" in? How do we expect people to use roundabouts properly if some cannot even name them correctly..
Gotta love the guys driving their earth-moving equipment to church on sunday and all those folks towing cars with a string or belt!
If you want to decrease the road carnage, pass a law that puts governors on all cars that limits the top speed to 50 MPH.
DUI should result in cars impounded for a month, minimum. Multiple traffic offense, same thing, take the car for a month. Charge per day for the impound fees.
Hire 'traffic cops' to set up daily check points. Traffic offenses of any kind would be their sole responsibility.
The testing proceedure is failing. There are many local drivers who are clearly not capable, mature enough and responsible enough to have been issued with a driving licence. More should fail th test and be prevented from drivng. Who is assessing the assessors and what action is taken ifan assessor is found to be useless?
If I see ten divers a day, which I do, speeding excessively, tail-gating, talking on cell phones, swerving off the road onto the hard shoulder (where they could kill someone, or sweving into my lane (either head on, or when next to me on a dual-carriageway, or roundabout, as happened to me today…TWICE!) then the police are seeing these things.
There should be record numbers of fixed penalty notices, police warnings (which should stay on a person's record) and prosecutions for dangerous driving here in Cayman. Why is this not happening? Ge these b@st@**s off the road, as th may kill me!
I am also aware of someone I know who crased his car into another whilst drunk – was found to be over the legal drink-driving limit and yet who is still driving three month's later. Why? He is a danger and a criminal. If he killed someone in any other way he'd be in jail. As it is nothing ha happened.
Everything is failing in Cayman.
Natural selection
Road patrols is where the RCIP is failing. How often do you see cruisers canvasing the roads? much less pulling over offenders and by offenders I mean the dark tinted windows, strange colored head lamps and tail lamps, speeding and driving dangerously.
Once a crack down is continued you will see a drop in traffic accidents.
I will say, the RCIP does need the support of a dedicated impound lot. Government wants revenue? Build an IMPOUND LOT! Privatise garbage collection and road works and get an impound lot.
Vehicles will be towed to the lot and after various fees and fines and modifiecations, can then be collected. You can bet our drivers will be towing the line then.
Tow them out of handicap parking spots, tow away dark tinted windows, tow away uninsured vehicles, tow away vehicles that are not road worthy! This nonsense of pulling someone over, finding out he is not insured and then writing him a production ticket and LETTING him drive away again is pure negligence on the part of the RCIP.
Believe me, if I am ever in an accident with an uninsured driver and discover that he received a warning to get insurance, I know which direction a lawsuit will go.
Agreed. The traffic department is non-existent in this regard. Do we have one?
This simply will not change until the road rules are taught and enforced. The things I see people do every day I am surprised there aren't more deaths.
Enforcement? In Cayman? CNS needs a triple LOL button.
So would it be fair to say the cell-phone ban has made things worse, as drivers continue to surreptitously phone and text? I saw a prominent citizen recently talking into a small box, with which perhaps he hoped to conceal his illegal activity, though to be fair I suppose, he might have been conversing with his tiny pet budgerigar. Are these accidents just examples of 'The Law of Unintended Conseqences?' I'd like to know the official Police position on this national disgrace of appalling driving. Do they believe the cell phone ban has actually made thingsworse, because it certainly looks like it?
No, cell phone bans have been shown to have significant benefits.
Oh dear this is repetitive, isn't it? Firstly there is no real enforcement (how many times zzzzz?) so no law is working. Secondly because there is no real enforcement, many people believe the laws do not apply and therefore can do what they want, talk on phones, cut corners, drink, jump lights, drive like banditos..
That includes the small but incredibly full car of very drunk young expats (I am one too) driving up Palm Hts on Wednesday all over the road and opening doors while driving along especially when other cars driving towards them. That is madness, there are a lot of young mums and kids walk that road, drunks would not see them whilst opening doors at 30mph..you can imagine..there for the grace of God…To those young people, I say, next time I see you do that, I will ram your car to stop you potentially hurting others and damn the consequences.
I don't think the cellphone ban has made things worse. I think it's the fact that most people IGNORE the ban that is making things worse. Fear of getting caught is causing people to drive very dangerously because they are driving and doing nonsensicle things to hide the fact that they are also on the phone.