Proposal: Zero tolerance for drunk drivers
A zero tolerance policy on drinking and driving is on the cards.
IN a bid to reduce drunken driving, the national Department of Transport has proposed a zero tolerance alcohol level for South African motorists.
This might come as a relief to the public after another alarmingly high annual festive season death toll was announced last month. According to Transport Minister, Dipuo Peters, the country experienced 1 147 fatal accidents between 1 December and 5 January. The majority of the fatalities occurred in KwaZulu-Natal.
According to Peters, alcohol abuse continues to play a significant role in road deaths.
According to the new policy no alcohol consumption whatsoever is allowed. The matter, however, is still open for public comment until 27 February.
The new proposal outlined in the Draft National Road Traffic Amendment Bill states: “Driving a motor vehicle while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or drugs having a narcotic effect (is) prohibited”.
The proposal suggested that “No person shall, on a public road (a) drive a vehicle, or (b) occupy the driver’s seat of a motor vehicle, the engine of which is running, while there is a concentration of alcohol in any specimen of blood taken from any part of his or her body.”
Currently the law allows drivers to have up to 0.05g of alcohol per 100ml of blood.
Metro police spokesman, Sibonelo Mchunu, was optimistic about the proposal and said that he believed the amendment, if implemented, could deter drunk driving. “We will obviously be more strict, but we will be using various mechanisms to collect evidence and to criminalise motorists. If a person is caught driving with beer bottles and cans in his or her car, and he or she tests positive for alcohol, the person will be arrested and charged. But we will also take into consideration false-positive readings, with people who take cough medicine, for example. These aspects will also be considered before the law is implemented,” he said.
In Durban North residents were angered after a 19-year-old youth, along with nine other motorists, were arrested by the Durban North SAPS during a road block on the M4 in December last year.
