A strict zero blood-alcohol limit for motorists may be introduced in South Africa as the government steps up its fight against drunk driving amid thousands of arrests, and more than 6 000 road deaths already recorded this year.
Transport Minister Barbara Creecy said the government was pursuing amendments to Section 65 of the National Road Traffic Act and aimed for Cabinet approval by the end of 2026.
The move comes as more than 18,000 people were arrested for drunken driving between March and the end of August, accounting for about a third of all traffic arrests during the period.
Speaking at the Road Safety Practitioners’ Colloquium in Ekurhuleni this week, Creecy said South Africa could no longer accept the scale of carnage on its roads as normal.
“South Africa cannot normalise the close to 12 000 deaths recorded on the country’s roads annually.”
