{"id":821176,"date":"2025-04-16T12:02:09","date_gmt":"2025-04-16T10:02:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=821176"},"modified":"2025-04-16T12:17:12","modified_gmt":"2025-04-16T10:17:12","slug":"six-years-in-jail-for-drunk-driving-in-south-africa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/lifestyle\/821176\/six-years-in-jail-for-drunk-driving-in-south-africa\/","title":{"rendered":"Six years in jail for drunk driving in South Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Popular travel routes heading into Easter will face heightened levels of policing, with KwaZulu-Natal authorities promising tougher penalties for those caught drunk driving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

KZN Transport MEC, Siboniso Duma announced that his department will clamp down hard on drunk drivers during the upcoming Easter weekend, threatening jail sentences of up to six years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The routes between Gauteng and KZN’s coast are some of the busiest in the country, and traffic volumes shoot up tremendously over holiday periods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The province is expected to see 1,500 vehicles per hour toll gates en route to the coast for the Easter weekend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The KZN transport department said that it has deployed a team of 837 officials from the road traffic inspectorate to man roadblocks on various key routes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Authorities will check for roadworthiness, and the Department of Transport has deployed 120 law enforcement officers to aid safety and security checks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The department said it is taking a “no mercy” approach to lawbreakers and will work with the National Prosecuting Authority to ensure they are brought to justice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Specifically, the department will pursue longer jail terms for those who are caught, prosecuted and convited of drunk driving, seeking a sentence of six years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We’ve got these new penalties that were announced by the (transport) minister,” the department said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We have mandated law enforcement officers to come down hard on motorists found to be driving under the influence of alcohol.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It added that longer prison sentences should be a deterrent and help in tackling South Africa’s drunk driving problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The move by KZN authorities has received wide support, with the Democratic Alliance pushing for even tougher restrictions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The party said that traffic authorities should take the same zero-tolerance approach for speeding and reckless driving, and impose speed restrictions on vehicles transporting children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Driving under the influence is not a mistake\u2014it is a choice. And it is a choice that puts lives at risk,” the party said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“This new measure is not about punishment \u2013 it is about prevention and protection. We urge drivers to make responsible decisions behind the wheel.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What happens if you are arrested for drunk driving<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a>
KZN Transport MEC, Siboniso Duma<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In terms of the National Roads Act, it is illegal for a driver to operate a motor vehicle while having more than 0.05 gram per 100ml in their blood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of note is that it is up to law enforcement officials to choose whether they want to use a breathalyzer or not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If a driver is found to be over the limit, they will be arrested and taken into custody. Further tests will then be conducted, like a blood test.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Drivers cannot refuse a blood test but can have their medical practitioner present. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

During this time, the driver will be detained in a holding cell until they have been granted bail or at the next court appearance, which needs to be done within 48 hours. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, weekends are not included in the 48 hours, and if a driver is arrested over a weekend or a long weekend, they could be detained for longer than 48 hours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Typically, a driver faces a minimum fine of R2,000 or up to six years in prison<\/strong><\/a>, but the KZN transport department has made it clear that it will push for the maximum sentence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A drunk driver also faces the risk of having their driver’s licence suspended.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

South African motorists have been warned that traffic authorities will ramp up policing and enforcement over the coming Easter period and that they should expect to face more roadblocks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Legal experts have cautioned drivers to be mindful of how they approach these stop points and to also remember their own rights when dealing with traffic officials<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Traffic authorities are taking a ‘no mercy’ approach to drunk driving in South Africa, threatening to throw people in jail for six years if caught.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":764557,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9876],"tags":[22316,19988],"class_list":["post-821176","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle","tag-drunk-driving","tag-kwazulu-natal-2"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/821176","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=821176"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/821176\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":821189,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/821176\/revisions\/821189"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/764557"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=821176"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=821176"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=821176"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}