Mbalula: Out with the 0.5% and in with the 0% alcohol law this year
Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula said the number of fatalities on the roads this festive season saw a decline of 7% with 1,448 deaths recorded.
JOHANNESBURG - Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula on Friday said that a 0% alcohol law would be signed, which would see motorists with multiple offences have their licences revoked.
Mbalula said that the number of fatalities on the roads this festive season saw a decline of 7%, with 1,448 deaths recorded.
The minister released this year’s statistics earlier on Friday, saying that sedans and station wagons accounted for more than half of the fatal crashes.
A third of crashes involved heavy and light delivery vehicles. Thirty-one percent of crashes recorded during the festive season occurred during the curfew between midnight and 6am. Four thousand one hundred and forty-four motorists were arrested for driving under the influence, excessive speed and violating operating permits
Mbalula is now tightening the screws: “We are also going to sign into law this year 0% alcohol. It’s no longer 0.5%, its going to be 0.0%, meaning when you drive your car 0.0, you must be sober 100%.
“We are going to implement this year the de-merit system when you commit a number of offences you risk losing your license.”
Mbalula said that KwaZulu-Natal saw the highest number of fatalities at 289, which was a 14% decline from last year even though traffic volumes were the highest in that province.
Mpumalanga is the only province where fatalities went up by 4.4% compared to last year.
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