The government has launched a new road safety campaign to promote responsible driving, with people being urged to take responsibility for their own safety and to protect those around them.
The ‘Smart vs Reckless Driving’ campaign, started this week, is aimed at reducing dangerous driving on Cayman’s roads. It was launched on the day that two people were killed while driving in two separate incidents, the first two driving fatalities of the year.
The campaign urges drivers to reduce fatalities and serious injuries by putting their seat belts on, not to speed, not to use phones while driving and never to drive while impaired by alcohol or drugs. The messages will be shared through traditional and digital media, workplace outreach and school programmes.
The initiative is being led by the National Road Safety Strategy Committee, and coordinated by the Ministry of Planning, Lands, Agriculture, Housing and Infrastructure with representation from the National Roads Authority, Royal Cayman Islands Police Service, Department of Vehicle and Driver’s Licensing, Public Transport Unit, the Ministry of Home Affairs and District Administration, and several other entities.
Poor decisions
Following the recent fatalities, Minister for Planning, Lands, Agriculture, Housing and Infrastructure, Jay Ebanks said, “We all have a role to play in keeping our roads safe. It starts with taking responsibility for how we drive, how we think about safety and how we look out for each other on the road.
“This campaign is not just about raising awareness, it is about saving lives. Far too often, serious road incidents happen because of poor decisions that could have been avoided. That has to change.”
Chair of the National Road Safety Committee and chief officer in the Infrastructure Ministry, Eric Bush, echoed the call for shared accountability, explaining, “This campaign marks a deliberate shift from simply talking about road safety to demanding real change. We cannot accept preventable tragedies as part of life in the Cayman Islands. The reality is simple, smart choices save lives. Reckless ones cost them. It is time for every road user to step up, take responsibility and be part of the solution. The culture of safety we need won’t be built by government alone, it starts with each of us.”
Reckless driving
The campaign, which was initially launched in 2023 as part of the national road safety strategy, hopes to eliminate road fatalities and serious injuries by 2038. The strategy is built on four pillars – education through public awareness and school outreach programmes; enforcement via enhanced police visibility and targeted operations; engineering improvements for inherently safer roads; and emergency response enhancements.
Measures taken in the first year of the campaign include installing speed-calming measures in high-risk zones, upgrading school zone signage and road markings, increasing police visibility through 12 targeted enforcement campaigns and public education campaigns but, said government, “The work continues. Reckless driving still claims lives.”
People can access campaign resources and learn more about the national road safety strategy at gov.ky/roadsafety.
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“Increased police visibility”!. we need regular speed traps on all the dual carriageway roads, not policeman standing on the roadside waving to the drivers.
Unfortunately, it does seem that you’re absolutely correct. For a very long time now the level of traffic enforcement has been almost completely non-existent! And that is a major contributor to so many drivers feeling there is near total impunity for their actions! Until they crash that is, with expenses, injuries and even death to themselves, and worse yet to innocent persons also.
There are also far too many excuses by the powers that be, saying “the police can’t be everywhere”. While this is true, we do expect that the police are somewhere on our roadways pulling drivers over where needed – and we all know this isn’t happening anywhere near as much as is needed!
CONSISTENT TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT is the major thing missing!!