One sip of alcohol and a motorist will land himself in hot water with the law.
That is if the Department of Transport has its way. This new change in the Draft National Road Traffic Amendment Bill was gazetted last week for public comment.
The new section states “Driving a motor vehicle while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or drugs having a narcotic effect (is) prohibited”.
The proposal is 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”.
Current law allows drivers to have up to 0.05g of alcohol per 100ml of blood, or 0.02g/100ml for professional drivers.
The draft bill still has to go through the parliamentary process.
The Justice Project South Africa (JPSA) warned that a total ban might unintentionally criminalise the innocent.
According to a press release by JPSA chairman Howard Dembovsky “It would be a good thing to remove any doubt in people’s minds as to what the so-called limit is, but there are numerous problems.
“It’s a medical fact that some people will produce false-positive readings of both blood and breath samples, and therefore, having a zero limit before criminalising people is unwise.
“For example, eating fruit can produce naturally occurring blood alcohol levels, albeit that they would be low. Similarly, diabetics are at risk of false arrest as hypoglycaemia causes acetone in the breath.”
He also pointed to potential problems with over-the-counter medications such as cough mixture.
Dembovsky believes better law enforcement is the answer.
The public has until 27 February to comment.
