Police say only one person has been arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol since the DUI limits were lowered last week.
The driver, a 38-year-old man, is said to have returned a reading of 0.232% – more than three times the new legal limit of 0.07%, which came into effect on Thursday, 20 Oct.
“Over the mentioned period police made one arrest for DUI on Saturday, 22 October, after a person was observed driving erratically,” said a spokesperson for the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service.
Under the amendment to the Traffic Act, the blood-alcohol content limit for drivers was reduced from 0.1% to 0.07%, bringing it closer to the worldwide average of 0.06%.
“With the new legislation now in effect, the RCIPS will continue to increase our targeted traffic enforcement over the coming weeks, as we approach the festive season,” the police said. “We continue to advise the public never to drive while under the influence of alcohol.”
Although the DUI limits have been reduced, the penalties remain the same. Upon conviction, a person will lose their licence for one year for the first offence.
When previously discussing the bill in Parliament, Deputy Governor Franz Manderson noted there were 312 DUI summonses last year. Of those, 26% involved people who were found to be twice the then drink-drive limit of 0.1%, and 2% were three times over that original limit. More than a third – 36% – of those who were found to be over the limit were involved in a collision.
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