(CNS): With fifteen lives lost on the roads last year, 2022 was the worst year for fatalities since police began publicising officials statics on traffic collisions. Speaking at a press conference on Friday, Police Commissioner Derek Byrne described the tragic loss of life as a “red flag for all of us”, both police and drivers, highlighting the need to make local roads much safer. Overall, collisions increased by more than 11% last year.

The commissioner said that this year officers from the Traffic and Roads Policing Unit would focus on speeding and DUI, the two main causes of all collisions, and hope the recent lowering of the legal limit for alcohol while driving will help the situation.

“As a direct response to the ongoing issues of speeding and drink driving on our roads, the government lowered the maximum alcohol limit to 0.07%,” Byrne said, noting that his office strongly supported the change in the law.

“Over 2023, the RCIPS will refocus its road policing resources on the two major causes of traffic incidents, speeding and DUI, with a number of tactics and operations to be deployed. However, as a community, we must also do better when driving on our roads for the safety of all road users and those we carry as passengers in our vehicles,” he added.

Byrne admitted that there was a lot more work to be done to reduce collisions, and while the police will be increasing roadblocks and checks, drivers also have a responsibility to drive safely, he said.

Traffic cops issued 9,437 tickets for traffic offences throughout the 12 months of 2022, an increase of 340 tickets, or 4%, compared to 2021. Despite the concerns about drinking and driving, 234 summons for driving under the influence (DUI) were issued, a drop of 37% compared to the previous year, and the same for speeding tickets, which fell by 18% when compared to 2021. But officers attended 2,915 collisions, an increase of 282 (11%) compared to 2021.

Throughout 2022 the average number of road collisions per week reached 56, which often contributed to traffic jams as well as injury and death. In addition to the 14 fatal crashes, which killed 15 people last year, 32 people suffered serious injuries and 356 received minor injuries as a result of a crash.

On average, drivers ticketed for speeding were doing around 17mph over the speed limit, but in seven cases drivers were prosecuted for doing more than 80mph. The primary hotspot roads for speeding remain the key arterial routes, police said.

Around 60% of the drunk drivers caught by police last year were found to be double the new legal alcohol limit. In 22% of DUI offences, the driver was three times over the limit, and 44% of those prosecuted for drinking and driving were involved in a collision.

Police also remain concerned about the safety standards of some cars being imported into the Cayman Islands. While the government is currently considering a restriction on who and under what circumstances people can import vehicles, Superintendent Brad Ebanks said the RCIPS was also hoping that new safety standards would be rolled out for future imports.

See this year’s crime statistics in the CNS Library.