New system to detect uninsured drivers
Drivers who allow their motor insurance to lapse while still using their vehicles on the roads will soon be detected through the new electronic vehicle registration (EVR) system and a change in the traffic law that will allow insurance companies to update the Department of Vehicle and Drivers’ Licensing database in real-time. Joey Hew, the minister with responsibility for DVDL, told the Legislative Assembly on Wednesday night, as he presented a significant raft of amendments to the current traffic law, that this would allow the government to know who was driving illegally.
A change to the legislation that mandates insurance for vehicles will allow the director at DVDL to update the vehicle database with direct information from insurance companies. Hew said that some people were insuring their vehicles and then registering them but were letting the insurance lapse, which he described as a dangerous practice that government should not tolerate.
“To close this loophole, the amendment allows the director to enter into direct agreements with insurance companies to electronically update the database through the EVR,” he said. “Once operational, owners can be notified electronically and government can also be informed of persons driving illegally, that is without insurance.” The minister added that it was another advantage to the new electronic registration system.
Given that hundreds of crashes, from minor collisions to major smashes, are reported to the police every month, the need for all drivers to be insured remains an important factor. There were 2,725 collisions in 2017, including 30 that caused serious injury. Police also arrested 185 people last year for driving without insurance. Government is now hoping that its electronic registration system and the coordinated electronic database will give the authorities a much better idea of which cars on Cayman’s roads are safe and legal and which are not, which will improve traffic enforcement.
The amendment to the traffic law, which was presented in the LA very late Wednesday evening, covers a wide range of road user issues, including the problems of vehicles no longer on the road and the issue of registration termination. Hew announced an amnesty under the new law that will allow people to turn in plates from cars that are no longer on the road. He said that vehicles not formally terminated can accrue registration fees for three years, and it appears that the $25 fee to turn in plates has been a barrier to people cancelling the registration.
Hew said cars had remained on the register with unpaid fees piling up that have never been paid. But drivers will now be able to turn in plates free of charge. He said the six month amnesty after the law comes into effect would allow people to strike vehicles which are not on the road anymore from the formal register and reset the clock if they managed to get the vehicle roadworthy again.
“In many cases, a vehicle is taken off the road for repairs, and over time the cost to renew [the registration] becomes prohibitive, and this only snowballs out of control and the user is left with a car that becomes derelict,” he said, adding that government would be waiving all the accrued fees for submitting plates for cars now off the road and the amnesty will last until the end of the year.
Speaking about the new EVR system, Hew said that once the antennas are operational, the department will be able to know when a car is on the road whether or not it is taxed.
The minister also announced that the ban on Mini Mokes, an iconic vehicle that has been redesigned, will be lifted as, despite having no sides, the director of DVDL is satisfied that the new designs can be licensed on Cayman roads.
Another important change to the law will allow the police to seize motorcycles from rogue drivers. The attorney general noted recent problems the police had encountered from gangs of bikers and the dangers some of them were posing riding erratically on, in some cases, illegal bikes. The commissioner had asked for changes to the law to give his officers the necessary powers to deal with that.
“To close this loophole, the amendment allows the director to enter into direct agreements with insurance companies to electronically update the database through the EVR,” he said. “Once operational, owners can be notified electronically and government can also be informed of persons driving illegally, that is without insurance.” The minister added that it was another advantage to the new electronic registration system.
Given that hundreds of crashes, from minor collisions to major smashes, are reported to the police every month, the need for all drivers to be insured remains an important factor. There were 2,725 collisions in 2017, including 30 that caused serious injury. Police also arrested 185 people last year for driving without insurance. Government is now hoping that its electronic registration system and the coordinated electronic database will give the authorities a much better idea of which cars on Cayman’s roads are safe and legal and which are not, which will improve traffic enforcement.
The amendment to the traffic law, which was presented in the LA very late Wednesday evening, covers a wide range of road user issues, including the problems of vehicles no longer on the road and the issue of registration termination. Hew announced an amnesty under the new law that will allow people to turn in plates from cars that are no longer on the road. He said that vehicles not formally terminated can accrue registration fees for three years, and it appears that the $25 fee to turn in plates has been a barrier to people cancelling the registration.
Hew said cars had remained on the register with unpaid fees piling up that have never been paid. But drivers will now be able to turn in plates free of charge. He said the six month amnesty after the law comes into effect would allow people to strike vehicles which are not on the road anymore from the formal register and reset the clock if they managed to get the vehicle roadworthy again.
“In many cases, a vehicle is taken off the road for repairs, and over time the cost to renew [the registration] becomes prohibitive, and this only snowballs out of control and the user is left with a car that becomes derelict,” he said, adding that government would be waiving all the accrued fees for submitting plates for cars now off the road and the amnesty will last until the end of the year.
Speaking about the new EVR system, Hew said that once the antennas are operational, the department will be able to know when a car is on the road whether or not it is taxed.
The minister also announced that the ban on Mini Mokes, an iconic vehicle that has been redesigned, will be lifted as, despite having no sides, the director of DVDL is satisfied that the new designs can be licensed on Cayman roads.
Another important change to the law will allow the police to seize motorcycles from rogue drivers. The attorney general noted recent problems the police had encountered from gangs of bikers and the dangers some of them were posing riding erratically on, in some cases, illegal bikes. The commissioner had asked for changes to the law to give his officers the necessary powers to deal with that.
