Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Transport has thrown its support behind Minister of Transport Barbara Creecy’s call to ban any level of alcohol consumption for drivers.

Creecy released the festive season road statistics and called for zero tolerance for drinking and driving.
It is currently a criminal offense to exceed the limit of 0.05g/100ml concentration of alcohol in blood or
0.24mg/1 000ml breath for general drivers, while stricter limits of 0.02g/100ml blood or 0.10mg/1 000ml breath are in place for professional drivers.

“The committee supports the consideration of a total ban on alcohol use on the roads. It is clear now that decisive action is required. Otherwise, during the Easter period, high fatality figures are likely to persist.

“It has become clear that driving under the influence of alcohol has reached alarming levels, resulting in unnecessary loss of life. The committee and its predecessors may not have exercised sufficient rigour in their oversight role. The committee supports the consideration of a total ban of alcohol use by drivers,” committee chairperson, Donald Selamolela, said.

Preliminary statistics from the Festive Season Road Safety Campaign, which covers the period of December 1 until January 11, indicated that while there has been a 5% reduction in crashes and fatalities, 1 427 fatalities were recorded from 1 172 crashes.

During the festive season, 8 561 drivers tested positive for alcohol consumption – an increase of 144% from the same period last year.

“Liability should be placed where necessary, and transgressing drivers should face stiff sanctions, including being banned from ever having a driving licence. Drunk driving remains a serious and dangerous offence. Delays in acting on this matter risk further preventable loss of life on the country’s roads.

These are deaths that could have easily been avoided. We need to reverse the perception that roads are death traps, and anyone can behave however they like,” Selamolela added. – SAnews.gov.za