Graduated Driver’s Licences Coming

Friday, July 16, 2004

The Leader of Government Business, the Hon McKeeva Bush, announced on Wednesday that a graduated licensing system for novice drivers would soon become law in the Cayman Islands.

Mr Bush has asked the Attorney General to draw up amendments to the Traffic Law to introduce the system here, and the bill is expected to be brought before the Legislative Assembly during its current meeting.

The graduated licensing legislation is intended to better prepare young drivers to handle the responsibilities of driving and to allow them to gain experience in a more structured manner than exists at present.

The system would introduce several stages into the process of gaining a full driver’s licence in the Cayman Islands.

At each stage, novice drivers would have to satisfy certain requirements before being allowed to move to the next stage.

Mr Bush said he has been in discussion with the MattSafe safe driving organisation for some time and, in drafting the amendments, government would be taking into consideration graduated licensing proposals jointly developed by MattSafe and the Cayman Islands Road Safety Advisory Council (CIRSAC).

“The loss of another young life this past weekend in a motor vehicle accident is a painful tragedy that I do not want to see repeated,” said Mr Bush. “I feel it is incumbent on us to do something immediately to remedy the situation. Having a law in place is one necessary step in finding an overall solution to this problem.”

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