Cabinet has approved the submission of the National Road Traffic Amendment Bill of 2019 to Parliament, with the proposed legislation set to introduce a number of changes for South African motorists.<\/p>\n
“The bill proposes amongst others regulations for the driving-school industry and proposes appropriate standards under which learner drivers must be taught,” said the minister in the Presidency Jackson Mthembu in a statement on Thursday (12 March).<\/p>\n
“It also deals with fraud and corruption within the road traffic environment, increases penalties for those who fail to comply with traffic rules; prohibits alcohol consumption by drivers and proposes the national number plate legislation.”<\/p>\n
It was not specified how it plans to increase penalties for motorists, but government has spoken at length about its plans to introduce a zero-tolerance policy for drunk driving in South Africa.<\/p>\n
Transport minister Fikile Mbalula confirmed in January that his department was moving ahead with a 0% legal blood-alcohol limit, meaning that drivers will not be allowed to drink alcohol and drive at all.<\/p>\n
The National Road Traffic Act (NRA) currently has small limits in blood alcohol levels, that allows drivers behind the wheel if they have been drinking and stay within the limits.<\/p>\n
These laws differentiate between normal drivers and professional drivers (those who hold professional driving permits).<\/p>\n
For normal drivers, the concentration of alcohol in any blood specimen must be less than 0.05 gram per 100 millilitres, and in the case of a professional driver, less than 0.02 gram per 100 millilitres.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are going to be intolerant to drinking and driving,” Mbalula said at the time. “We\u2019re going beyond saying there\u2019s some percentage \u2013 it must be 0%. It\u2019s going to be zero. No alcohol in the blood \u2013 and the law is going to bite with regard to that.”<\/p>\n