Moloto Road reckless driver’s ‘Arrest is imminent’, promises Mbalula

The motorist who was caught on camera driving recklessly on Moloto Road in Pretoria has been identified, Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula has confirmed.

During a media briefing on Wednesday morning, Mbalula said the driver will be arrested, and be held accountable for his recklessness on the road.

“I am pleased to report that the man who was recorded driving a Range Rover recklessly and protruding from a driver’s window has been identified by investigators from the Road Traffic Management Corporation [RTMC].

ALSO READ: 142% spike in crashes with multiple deaths, says Mbalula

“His arrest is imminent and he will face the full might of the law for his unacceptable behaviour that places the lives of other road users in harm’s way,” he said.

Video footage of the incident, which took place last week, was widely shared on social media.

In the video, the driver is seen pulling stunts from his Range Rover, while the vehicle swerved from lane to lane.

Mbalula was releasing the preliminary festive season road safety statistics.

The minister said there was an increasing number of travellers on the roads, which results in a high number of traffic violations.

He indicated that more than 2,600 drivers were arrested for various offences including drunk-driving and excessive speeding.

“The worst speedster was caught on the N1 [in] Mokopane, where he clocked a 225 kilometers per hour in an 120 kilometer zone.

“The worst drunk driver was caught on the N2, north of Winklespruit in KwaZulu-Natal with a breath alcohol reading at 1.95mg [milligrams] 1,000 ml [millilitres] of breath.

“The legal breath alcohol limit in South Africa is less than 0.24mg in 1,000 ml of breath,” the minister said.

READ MORE: Mbalula’s stance on drunk driving: ‘Not even cough mixture’

It is still legal to drive if the motorist’s blood-alcohol-level measures below 0.05g per 100ml, but this has since been challenged by government.

The National Road Traffic Amendment Act prohibits any use and consumption of alcohol by all motor vehicle drivers on South African public roads.

The zero-tolerance approach will mean that the legal blood-alcohol limit for drivers would be 0%.

The amendment bill was first introduced to National Assembly in May 2020 in bid to reduce fatal crashes across the country.

According to North Coast Courier, the estimated cost to the country is around R18.2 billion annually because of drunk driving.