Following its Carnival Season Road Safety Campaign this past June/July, the RCIPS is conducting its third targeted road safety campaign beginning Monday, as part of its efforts to reduce serious injuries and fatalities on our roads, and encourage safe driving behaviours. The operation is being conducted as a continued part of the National Road Safety Strategy, ‘Safe Roads, Safe Cayman: The Road to Zero.’

Commencing Monday 30 September, through to Monday, 14 October, RCIPS officers will be conducting high visibility policing initiatives and traffic enforcement across the islands, focusing on persistent road safety offences and poor driving behaviours, including speeding, DUI, inconsiderate, and distracted driving.

The campaign will once again include partner agencies, such as DVDL and the Public Transport Dept, who will be targeting un-road-worthy vehicles and un-safe loads, in order to address the variety of factors that contribute to unsafe roads.

“This additional road safety campaign in our annual schedule, proceeding carnival season, and preceding our Christmas/ New Year campaign, should demonstrate our commitment to the community that the police are doing their part, through enforcement, to hold motorists accountable to drive responsibly, says Chief Superintendent, Brad Ebanks.  “I implore motorists do their part by making a conscious effort to change their adverse driving behavior and make our roadways safer for all who use them.”

Reallocation of police resources will allow for increased officers on the road over this period, who will be tasked with proactively focusing on those motorists that demonstrate disregard for the law and endanger other road users, while also increasing visible presence, in order to remind and reinforce to the public the need for safe driving behaviours.

“The TARPU attend to, on average, over 60 MVA’s per week, which aside from causing damage to vehicles and personal injury, also causes delays on our roadways, and takes the TARPU away from other proactive road policing matters”, says Head of Traffic and Road Policing, Inspector Andre Tahal.  “This road safety campaign will enhance police presence at known hotspots to target offenders, making the roadways safer for all road users.  “The poor driving behavior occurring every day on our roadways is not only irresponsible, but self-centered and demonstrates lack of consideration for others when drivers;

• choose to speed,
• drive under the influence,
• take their attention off the road to their phones,
• or overtake where it is clearly not safe to do so”. 

“Motorists who exhibit poor driving behavior are not only putting themselves and their passengers, who can at times be children, at risk, but also the lives of others”, continues Chief Supt. Ebanks.  “And for what reason?  To get to a destination two minutes faster?  All drivers should play their part in ensuring that they or persons they know don’t drink and drive, drive within the speed limits and exercise considerate driving of other road users.  And passengers, you have a role to play too – call out unsafe driving behavior when you see and experience it.” 

RCIPS continues its commitment to promoting road safety as we work with our partners in government to support the National Road Safety Strategy.

END

See also “Driving at night: safety tips for driving in the dark“

NOTE: The above link was NOT sent to us nor approved by the RCIPS. It does however contain helpful tips for night time driving.