The Department of Transport says that it will stand firm on its decision to introduce a zero-tolerance drunk driving regulation in South Africa’s planned National Road Traffic Amendment Bill.<\/p>\n
The bill introduces a total prohibition for the use and consumption of alcohol by all motor vehicle operators on South African public roads.<\/p>\n
It does this by deleting reference to any alcohol content in the blood or breath specimen of motor vehicle drivers on the road in South Africa.<\/p>\n
The National Road Traffic Act (NRA) currently enables those who have consumed alcohol to get behind the wheel provided they are under the blood alcohol limit.<\/p>\n
These laws differentiate between normal drivers and drivers who hold professional driving permits.<\/p>\n
Nearly all of the public submissions on the bill focused on this drunk-driving aspect, with civil society groups, businesses, legal experts and opposition parties all raising concerns of the potentially harmful impact of the provision.<\/p>\n
Some of the concerns raised include:<\/p>\n
However, the department has remained steadfast on this provision, stating that it will help drastically lower road fatalities in the country.<\/p>\n
Changes needed\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Citing data from the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) and the South African Medical Research Council, the department said that drunk driving accounts for 27.1% of fatal crashes in the country.<\/p>\n It added that the estimated cost to the economy because of drunk driving sits at R18.2 billion annually.<\/p>\n The department acknowledged that certain substances, such as cough medicine, could also give a false reading due to trace amounts of alcohol. However, it said that this was not enough reason to the scrap the proposal.<\/p>\n “A lot of cough medicines contain warning leaflets that advise people against the consumption of the medication if they will be operating a motor vehicle or heavy machinery,” it said.<\/p>\n “It is thus ideal that a person who has consumed such medication will be best advised to have a rest in order to let the effects of the medication subside. A lot of these medications cause drowsiness and thus constitutes a danger to the driver himself\/herself, as well as other road users.”<\/p>\n The department said that the introduction of 24\/7 traffic policing as well as the use of the Evidential Breathalyser Alcohol Test (EBAT) system will further help enforce the regulations.<\/p>\n
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