From RCIPS

Operation Magpie nets offenders, but motor vehicle accidents continue apace

With the onset of the holiday season, the RCIPS has stepped up traffic enforcement as part of its Holiday Safety Initiative in an effort to combat the usual uptick in road accidents every December. In its first week alone, through 7 December, several traffic operations, in addition to regular individual traffic stops, have been carried out around the Islands, resulting in 57 traffic tickets, 17 speeding prosecutions, 8 DUI prosecutions, 29 expired registration tickets, and an assortment of tickets for parking in disabled spaces, not wearing seat belts, talking on the mobile phone while driving, etc.

While these are a high number of citations for a one-week period, the fact remains that the number of traffic accidents for this first week of December also remains stubbornly high, at 51.

“People are in a hurry at this time of year,” says Chief Inspector Frank Owens, “when the fact is that good, defensive driving – the type of driving that prevents accidents – requires patience. No matter where you are rushing to, it is not worth risking an accident.”

Operation Magpie is the enforcement operation of the RCIPS Holiday Initiative, which began with an education campaign about road safety with the release of “Road Impact: Cayman Islands”, a documentary project jointly produced with Cayman 27 about the impact of road crashes on families and the wider community.

“The RCIPS will continue our efforts to bring about a safe holiday season by taking a zero tolerance approach to traffic violations,” said Superintendent of District Operations, Angelique Howell, “we are also extending our safety messages to include personal safety of which we will be focusing on this week. We encourage everyone to consider their safety and that of other road users.”

Operation Magpie will continue through January 4th 2016.