As the festive season draws closer, and with October being transport month, Aware.org hosted the don’t drink & drive seminar. Under the theme: Driving Action for Safer Roads, the event, held at the Southern Sun Hotel in Rosebank on October 16, brought together representatives from government, law enforcement, the private sector, and civil society to develop practical strategies to reduce alcohol-related road harm in South Africa.

The seminar built on the momentum of Aware.org’s successful road safety roundtable, held in the first quarter of 2025, where stakeholders acknowledged the urgent need for co-ordinated action to shift social acceptance of drinking and driving.

The day’s discussions focused on closing critical gaps, through a comprehensive strategy combining education, enforcement, prosecution, and rehabilitation.

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Delivering the welcoming remarks for the event, Mokebe Thulo, CEO of Aware.org, said: “When we say driving action for safer roads, it is not only a play on words. Our goal is to help build a society free from the harmful effects of alcohol.”

Thulo added that South Africans face many ills, some of which we can’t do anything about, but this was something we could solve through commitment and action.

Sola Oke, managing director of Pernod Ricard Africa and Aware.org board member, emphasised the urgency of collective action.

“Over the past year, Aware.org, in collaboration with a number of stakeholders, conducted more than 10 000 roadblocks, resulting in over 9 800 arrests for drunk driving. Over the same period, Gauteng recorded a 6% reduction in drunk driving incidents, and post-Easter 2025 data shows a remarkable 45.6% drop in road fatalities.”

Oke added that these were the types of tangible results that come from collaboration, shared responsibility, and focusing on practical solutions.

Deputy Minister of Transport Mkhuleko Hlengwa reinforced the importance of behavioural change and public awareness in road safety, noting that even the most advanced infrastructure cannot compensate for irresponsible behaviour.

“Although we have seen a decrease in road fatalities, the sobering truth is that so long as we are losing lives, the work remains. To that end, as the Department of Transport, we remain steadfastly committed to our goal of reducing road fatalities by 50% by 2030.”

Hlengwa noted that this was in line with the targets set out in the United Nation’s decade of action for road safety mandate.

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The seminar was anchored by four panel discussions that explored critical areas, including awareness and education, communication strategies, enforcement capabilities, and prosecution with rehabilitation.

Throughout the day, participants highlighted that road safety requires shared responsibility, with stakeholders committing to act both as advocates and organisational representatives.

Education emerged as a foundation for change, with multi-level campaigns targeting, not just the public, but also law enforcement, retailers, and event industry players.

The seminar aims to deliver tangible outcomes, including a draft roadmap for addressing critical gaps in alcohol-related road safety over the next 12–24 months, the development of collaboration frameworks with clearly defined roles, and the identification of hotspot areas requiring urgent intervention and resource allocation.

A pledge board, signed by participants, will serve as a public accountability mechanism, with progress updates to be shared with stakeholders and the public.

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