From RCIPS

Over the past two weeks, police have found that there has been an increase in motor vehicle collisions. So far this year, there have been an average of 66 motor vehicle collisions per week. In the month of October, this increased to 73 per week.  This already increasing number has since increased significantly once again, reaching what is believed to be a record high average of 94 motor vehicle collisions per week over the past 2 weeks.

The vast majority of these motor vehicle collisions appear to be damage-only or minor collisions. Many of them appear to be attributed to other offenses such as careless driving and DUI, while others have resulted in the drivers being warned for intended prosecution for offenses such as driving without vehicle registration, driving without insurance, etc.

Approximately 70% of all collisions reported so far this year in the Cayman Islands have taken place in George Town, with some key areas being West Bay Road, North Sound Road, Esterley Tibbetts Highway and Shamrock Road, all of which also have the key issue of speeding. Additionally, a significant number of these collisions resulted in drivers fleeing the scene of the accident.

As the Christmas Season approaches, the RCIPS wants to encourage everyone to not drink and drive, but to have a plan to get home following any festivities you participate in. Reduce your speed on the roadways and give 100% of your attention to driving, and especially, ensure that you do not use your mobile phones while driving.

The RCIPS once again has partnered with the National Drug Council and Compass Media for the Arrive Alive 345 Campaign to ensure that the message of road safety gets across to the community in a wider and more holistic sense. This means stressing the importance of making good decisions, and highlighting the severe community impact which can occur when we make poor driving decisions, as is shown with the six fatal collisions that have taken place this year so far, which resulted in the death of nine persons. One of these incidents took place in November, and marks the first fatal collision since July.

“We hope that as the holiday season progresses, motorists and other road users will adapt better driving behaviours on our roadways,” says Chief Superintendent Brad Ebanks, “For the remainder of the year, our aim is to ensure that everyone remains unharmed and safe. To this end, we ask that the public assist us by being our eyes and ears send us dash cam footage that captures poor driving behaviours, so that we may tailor our response to the occurrences on our road way.”

Members of the public who submit dash cam footage to the police may also assist in the prosecution of offenders by providing a statement to the police, assisting with the traffic investigation. Otherwise, footage may be submitted anonymously to our website at https://www.rcips.ky/submit-a-tip.

The RCIPS would like to thank the members of our community who continue to ensure their safety and the safety of others by making good driving decisions and driving defensively. This means driving cautiously, following the rules of the road, and being aware of your surroundings so that you can identify and avoid dangerous road situations.

For more tips on safe driving, motorists are encouraged to visit https://www.rcips.ky/safe-driving-tips.