Total ban on drinking and driving in South Africa could be enforced by April

Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Transport has endorsed the Minister of Transport Barbara Creecy’s plans for a total ban on drinking and driving in South Africa, calling for the law to be implemented by the Easter holiday period. 

South Africa’s current laws permit blood alcohol levels of less than 0.05g/100 ml for motorists. 

Following a particularly deadly festive season on South African roads, Creecy said this needs to change. 

“A total of 173,000 drivers were tested for being under the influence of alcohol. 8,561 of these tested positive and were arrested,” saiod Creecy.

“This represents a 144% increase in the number of arrests for drunken driving since the previous year,” she added.

Creecy said that the drunk driving policy was formulated many years ago and in today’s South Africa, it is totally unacceptable that there is a law that allows people to drink and drive.

“I have never understood this. I cannot explain this to anyone who has lost a parent, a brother, a sister, a child, as a result of a road accident,” she said. 

“The time has come for us to amend the law so that we have a clear-cut, unambiguous policy that says drinking and driving is not allowed.”

The department announced that it will, therefore, begin amending section 65 of the National Road Traffic Act to implement a zero-tolerance policy for drinking and driving. 

The Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Transport has supported the minister’s decision, noting the 1,427 road fatalities during the festive season and the need to do more to prevent further deaths. 

“The committee supports the consideration of a total ban on alcohol use on the roads. It is clear now that decisive action is required,” said Committee chairperson Donald Selamolela. 

“Otherwise, during the Easter period in three months, high fatality figures are likely to persist.”

The Committee said that the necessary legislation needs to be implemented with urgency. 

Drunk drivers to be permanently banned from getting a licence

Going one step further than Creecy, the committee added that drivers found to have ingested any alcohol before getting behind the wheel should face more severe punishment. 

“Transgressing drivers should face stiff sanctions, including being banned from ever having a license to drive. Drunk driving remains a serious and dangerous offence,” the Chairperson said. 

Additionally, the committee recommended placing more police officers on the roads to monitor driver behaviour.

“The roads have increasingly become sites of non-compliance with traffic laws because drivers know police will look away. That must come to an end,” he said. 

Selamolela said that any delay in acting on this matter will risk further deaths that could have been easily avoided. 

“We need to reverse the perception that roads are death traps and anyone can behave however they like,” he said. 

The Minister’s announcement was also supported by the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), which said that 40% of South Africa’s 14,000 annual deaths on the road have been linked to alcohol consumption. 

COSATU recalled that a total ban on drinking and driving was proposed in the 6th administration, but was rejected in 2022. The organisation said this is a real shame.

“South Africa’s unhealthy relationship with alcohol is a major factor in our painful levels of road carnage. There is a place for responsible consumption of alcohol within society,” COSATU said.