Soon after I arrived in Cayman over 30 years ago the police traffic officers were targeting drivers who drove past an amber traffic signal and ticketing them with the offense of not obeying a traffic signal.

This caused many protests and angry members of the community.

It also coincided with a brand new police vehicle being driven at great speed on the runway at Owen Roberts International Airport towards the North Sound. It failed to stop in time and ended up in the sea to the delight of the fish and to the laughter of the public.

No one was hurt but the new police vehicle was a right off.

We heard nothing about any disciplinary action being taken out against the driver of the vehicle. What we got was an explanation that the car was being tested!

Damage control was done by senior police officers visiting the public at various places including local bars.

The public was also given an assurance that the ticketing of drivers going through amber lights would cease although offenders may be stopped and cautioned.

What is the law relating to amber lights?

The basic position is that when a traffic light is showing amber, it is an offence to drive through it unless it is unsafe to do so. For example, you are so close to the stop line that you can’t stop, or for some reason trying to stop suddenly could cause danger to other road users.

Common misconceptions

Most people think you can proceed on amber, and often put their foot down to get past the stop line before it turns red. This is a common misconception and in my view is the reason many people receiving fixed penalty notices don’t understand why, as they have physically passed the stop line on amber, but the back of their vehicle hasn’t. The light has turned red and caught it.

In countries where there are enforcement cameras at traffic lights they are normally set to give drivers the benefit of the doubt regarding the need to stop on amber, but are triggered by vehicles passing the stop line when the lights are red. So even if a very small part of the back of the vehicle is the wrong side of the stop line – even a tow bar – the camera will record the offence.

So what then is the purpose of an amber light?

The answer really is almost a zero. It’s a caution that is used by the police as a red light. If that is going to be the policy the amber light serves no purpose at all. In fact the amber light has caused more problems and the public’s anger at the police when so ticketed than any other traffic offence. It, therefore, should be done away with altogether.

Coinciding with some of Cayman’s media for giving a real old bashing to the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service (RCIPS) when their latest statistics showed quite a drop in the prosecution of traffic offences, the ticketing of Cayman’s drivers for driving through the amber light has commenced in earnest again.

You see, the media pointed to the RCIPS’s current policy of not having a designated traffic division for the drop in numbers. In using a senior police officer words – “Every police officer is a traffic cop” didn’t wash. The media practically said the police weren’t doing their job. There were still the same number of traffic offenders but without the traffic police they were getting away with it.

When I read some of the articles and editorials I thought, “Oh dear. Let’s see what will happen now.”

So to get the numbers up the police officers are going to book you for every offence they can see. Vehicular obstruction is another one that has become a firm favourite with our police officers.

You see, both the amber offence and the obstruction offence is the judgement of the police officer and if you go to court and try to fight it you will lose if you do not have a witness.

If a police officer says you would not be causing an obstruction when you passed through an amber traffic light and, in his opinion, it would not have been unsafe for you to stop, the magistrate will almost certainly take the word of the police officer.

A police officer gave a ticket recently to one of our tenants for obstruction on our own private road. The car was one of the smallest models available and even when an SVU is parked in the same position the DoE refuse truck can pass comfortably through! Our tenant decided not to fight it and paid up even though the police officer was wrong. That same police officer gave a similar ticket to a family member again on a private access road. Every police officer may be a traffic cop but it would seem they are not properly trained to do that job.

However, the $100 that is being collected by the RCIPS and the consequent rise in the numbers of the traffic offences is small fry compared to the damage being done to community policing.

That one person who has been targeted for what is quite frankly a very trivial offence and can be compared with driving 1-5 mph over the speed limit, is going to tell dozens and dozens of people and those people so told will tell others. There is 100% sympathy by the public to the sufferer because they know they too can be targeted. The public’s perception of the RCIPS isn’t exactly glowing.

To the victim of this triviality they are irate because they do not feel they have committed any offence.

Here in Cayman at some of the road intersections where there are traffic lights the road stop line is placed so far back from the last set of lights it is impossible not to break the law and stop.

A case in point is at the junction of North Church Street/West Bay Road and Eastern Avenue. If you are driving from George Town towards West Bay you can comfortably drive through the green light at the first traffic signal adjacent to the road stop line. However, by the time you have reached the overhead traffic signals they have changed to amber and if you have timed it wrong even red, and if you stop you are going to obstruct the traffic that is going to come from Eastern Avenue.

The reason for the layout by Public Works is to allow for large trucks to make the turn that is at an obtuse angle.

Another one is at the traffic lights at the junction of Harbour Drive/North Church Street and Fort Street. The road stop line has been drawn right back to allow pedestrians to cross in front of it. There are many pedestrians crossing at this junction on cruise ship days.

If anyone is ticketed for going through an amber light at either of those places the police offer’s judgment is very suspect, or worse he is lying.

And worse than that.

If the police think they are going to get any cooperation from anyone in the community who has so been targeted, including the person’s family and friends, they had better think again.

And I pray they do start thinking again on giving tickets to dubious and trivial offences that is some cases cannot be avoided. Then the process of community policing may get back the public support. It works both ways.