(CNS): The situation on Cayman’s roads, got worse at the weekend and closed out the first full week of Operation Winter Guardian, the RCIPS’ season anti-crime and road safety campaign, with a total 88 collisions recorded by police in seven days, including 27 just this weekend. Police also arrested 13 drunk drivers over the first seven days. With the community increasingly concerned about the standards of driving and the growing danger of local roads police said they stopped and checked around 290 vehicles were stopped and checked across the island this weekend.
Since the operation began on 16 December, 70 people have been prosecuted for various traffic offenses, including 10 for using a mobile phone while driving. Members of the public should expect additional vehicle checkpoints this week, as the RCIPS continues to encourage the public to practice safe driving.
“As we enter Christmas week, we would like to emphasise the importance of personal responsibility for all road users,” said Chief Superintendent Brad Ebanks. “It’s your responsibility to plan ahead, whether you are attending a Christmas party or otherwise going out for a drink, to ensure that you are not drinking and driving. We have extra officers on the roads who are focusing on persons driving under the influence, speeding, or engaging in other dangerous driving practices. If you want to avoid being prosecuted over the holidays, you should take the necessary measures to avoid driving under the influence, and thus minimise the risks to you and others using the roadways,” he added.
However it appears that calls from police for people to take more care on the roads continues to fall on deaf ears. The weekly crash rate recently which was running at around an average of 60 plus crahses per week throughout the year climbed as high as 94 in November and it appears to be showing no sign of a decline as the number of cars on the roads increases.
There are also major concerns that many people are driving without valid licenses.
Meanwhile the death too this year on the roads has climbed to twelve with many more sustaining serious injuries in what is likely to turn out to be the worst year in Cayman’s history for the number of collisions and the level of serious injury.
