2025 Year in Review: Cayman aims for zero road fatalities by 2038

Cayman road safety officials hope to finish the year with the road death toll still at six, the number recorded in 2025 through late December.

The last death was on 18 Oct, when Michael Edward Boonstra, a 78-year-old visitor from the US, was struck by a car on the accident hotspot of West Bay Road in George Town – the second on the busy thoroughfare in two months.

Police said the driver of the car appeared to have suffered a medical emergency at the time of the crash, which happened near Piper Way close to the Hampton by Hilton hotel.

Marcos Ruben Soto Rivera, 34, originally from Honduras, died in a single vehicle crash on West End East Road, Cayman Brac on 21 Sept.

Paulo Pillas, a bartender at the Palm Heights hotel, and a co-worker were struck by a white Dodge pick-up truck as they pushed a trolley across West Bay Road on 13 Sept.

Pillas, who was 37, and the father of a young son, was pronounced dead at the scene by a doctor. The other staff member, who has not been identified, was said to have suffered serious injuries, but was later discharged from hospital.

The driver of the truck was arrested on suspicion of drink driving.

Durvin Norales Mejia, who was 31, died in the early hours of 28 July after his car left the road and hit trees at the side of Shamrock Road in Savannah.

Kheon Robinson, 29, of Bodden Town, was killed on the Linford Pierson Highway in George Town only a few hours earlier, just after 11pm on 27 July, after his motorbike left the road.

And cyclist Per Undheim, a 38-year-old father of two, was killed on Bodden Town Road after he was hit by a car while cycling on Easter Sunday, 21 April.

Road fatalities prompt action

The deaths sparked a fresh look at road safety in Cayman, particularly driving standards and the prevalence of drink driving.

Police Superintendent Adrian Seales in September told the Compass that the country’s drink driving limit could be cut further to tackle the “plague” of drink driving.

He added that a sliding scale of penalties, rising in line with the level of intoxication, could also be considered.

But he highlighted that the problem was as much a social one as a policing one and that success demanded a multi-pronged approach involving other agencies.

He said the use of measures such as special late-night buses, the involvement of the taxi trade and a bigger emphasis on the need for designated drivers was vital.

Seales said, “I honestly believe if people don’t have a designated driver, they must work around another safe way to get home.”

And he said even alcometers or breathalysers fitted to cars to check drivers and disable the car if they tried to drive while under the influence were not off the table.

Road to zero

The country cut the drink driving limit to a 0.07% blood/alcohol content level (BAC) from 0.1% in 2022.

The level is lower than Jamaica, Canada, Florida and England and Wales, which have a limit of 0.08%, but higher than the permitted 0.05% in Scotland and Australia.

France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Portugal and Argentina also have a 0.05% BAC.

The police traffic department has also pledged to boost its efforts to curb dangerous driving and improve pedestrian safety.

The government unveiled its ‘RoadtoZero’ initiative, a campaign that aims to reduce the number of collisions on local roads over the next 14 years.

The main targets in the Cayman Islands National Road Safety Strategy 2023-2038 are to reduce road fatalities by 30% by 2028 and to eradicate them altogether by 2038.

The report spotlighted several factors involved in increased accidents, including rapid population growth, a limited public transport system, inadequate infrastructure and fragmented responsibility for road safety.

The plan said there should be sidewalks along all major roads, speed cameras, cycle paths, better road safety education in schools and tougher penalties for traffic offences. The interim goal is to reduce fatalities by 30% by 2028.