A car has been abandoned down my road. It hasn’t moved in six months, has a flat tyre and the coupon is out of date. I contacted the traffic department at the RCIPS and they determined that it hadn’t been stolen and told me what I have to do next. This is the bit that I need your help with. The sergeant told me to call 911 and explain the situation to them. An officer would then be sent to look at the car and he would try and contact the owner to have it removed. If that is not successful then I would have to contact the Department of Environmental Health or Department of Environment (he wasn’t sure which one) and they would eventually remove it. How can I call 911 when this is not an emergency? There must be another way.
Auntie’s answer: This is one of those questions that comes up from time to time, which provides unofficial confirmation, along with what I can see for myself around the island, that these eyesores remain a problem.
But I’m not sure why you were advised to involve the police in this matter. In my previous research on how to deal with abandoned vehicles, I did not find anything about contacting the RCIPS. On the contrary, an earlier column set out the procedure and it requires you to go straight to the Department of Environmental Health (see Getting rid of abandoned cars).
There’s really nothing to add to what I wrote before except that I share what I feel safe in describing as your displeasure at finding an unsightly wreck practically by your front door.
Please contact the DEH and let me know if the issue is resolved.
If you do a sweep through Bodden Town, starting at Guard House Hill and going down all the side streets as well as along the main road and end the sweep around Moon Bay, you will find a minimum of 50 derelict vehicles….cars, boats, 40 foot containers (and smaller), back hoes, bulldozers etc. And that’s just one small part of the island. Grand Cayman is a disgraceful dumping ground. Does anyone care? And how about the abandoned derelict houses and apartments in Bodden Town ( and presumably elsewhere)…..does anyone care?
In regards to the state of personal property protections and trespassing in the Cayman Islands, we’ve come home to find people have literally parked their 4600lb SUVs on our front lawn, in hindsight, breaking irrigation heads and leaving deep ruts and wheel spin damage in the soft grass as they drove home drunk after partying.
We were stunned to hear an officer from West Bay Police Station recount that all they can do is ask the owners to move their vehicles, if they are still there when they show up a half hour later. They cannot tow trespassing vehicles away (either because they don’t have an operational tow truck, or they don’t understand the Traffic Law). They won’t even issue a ticket for reckless driving and stick it on the windows.
If the abandoned, or parked vehicle is blocking an entrance or a fire/EMS route, they can make arrangements to tow it. If it’s parked on a main thoroughfare without lights, or in a roundabout, or in a double yellow line, it’s supposed to be a $1000 fine. Luck of the draw if any of the 10 responding constables in the Traffic Unit have familiarity with the two pages of Traffic Law that apply. Good luck.
Posted within the original comments but I don’t see an answer. I am also interested in what to do for next steps.
“What rights do landlords have for former tenants that won’t move their car(s) after they have moved.”
When you import a car there is a $1000 disposal fee applied, the DEH should dispose of it as they have already been paid.
I CANNOT believe that a policeman told you to call 911 for a non-emergency!! Oh, wait. Yes. Yes, I can.
I remember seeing a DEH truck idling by the running track for at least an hour….hilarious irony.
DEH will remove
Don’t be so sure. I was an original poster to Auntie for the same problem…6 months ago. A derelict junker got abandoned in our street , sat for over 6 months. Multiple letters to D.E.H via email to department heads. Absolutely zero response to my requests from anyone listed in Aunties original posted DEH web contact page.