Renewed call for ‘zero tolerance’ drunk driving laws in South Africa

 ·1 Feb 2022

Johannesburg major Mpho Phalatse has renewed calls for a zero-tolerance policy on drunk driving after another fatal accident over the weekend.

“It is time for a zero-tolerance approach to be adopted. No more talk of points demerit systems and seeking to coerce careless drivers to act appropriately,” she said.

“South Africa, and Johannesburg, can no longer afford to lose any more innocent lives. We also can no longer afford to continue suffering the financial and economic devastation that comes with road crashes.”

Phalatse’s comments come after a fatal accident in which a driver in a white Porsche SUV hit two cyclists riding in the emergency lane, along the R512 road on Sunday (30 January).

The Johannesburg Metro Police Department confirmed that one of the cyclists died on the scene and the other was airlifted to hospital and is in critical condition.

“Based on preliminary information from the scene, it would appear that the driver of the white Porsche SUV may have been under the influence of alcohol. Further information indicates that the alleged driver may have also tried to flee from the scene of the deadly crash but could not do so because his vehicle was too damaged,” Phalatse said.

The national government is currently considering amendments to the National Road Traffic Act which will reduce the legal blood alcohol limits for drivers to zero.

Included in the bill is an amendment of Section 65 which effectively changes the legal blood alcohol content (BAC) limit for drivers from 0.05 grams per 100 millilitres to 0.00g/100ml, and the breath alcohol concentration from 0.24g/1,000ml also to zero.

However, the proposed changes have faced criticism from civil society groups who warn that drivers can show higher blood alcohol levels after taking some medications or eating certain food groups, leading to false positives.


Read: New online car licence renewal system launched in South Africa – how it works

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