Government aiming for 0% blood-alcohol level
|Published
Government aiming for 0% blood-alcohol level. Picture: Pexels Government aiming for 0% blood-alcohol level. Picture: Pexels
Having just one drink and getting behind the wheel of a car may be just one too many.
With the festive season approaching, the national Transport Department is considering reducing the blood-alcohol level from 0.05% to 0%, and if given the green light, this will become part of the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (Aarto) system which will penalise drivers for a host of traffic infringements.
National Transport Department spokesperson Ayanda Allie-Paine said the proposal to drop the blood-alcohol level to 0% was part of a review process, which included reducing the speed limit, among other interventions which had been referred to the Road Traffic Management Corporation to study.
“Our plans for the festive season include targeted enforcement and smart policing. We intend to deploy all our available resources on a 24/7 basis for 365 days a year. This will also be a drill and precursor to the introduction of the Aarto Act,” she said.
Having just one drink and getting behind the wheel of a car may be just one too many. File image
Allie-Paine said there was consideration to reduce the speed by 20km/h (if it was 100 to 80, if 60 to 40 and freeways from 120 to 100).
“Road accidents are not only the result of speed, but several other factors as well.
“Our Road safety strategy has considered all these factors. Legislation is being reviewed to address and bring in place an edifice of various interventions to respond adequately to the challenge that South Africa is facing.
“Among these, a review of the international best practice on speed reductions, as is the case in countries such as Sweden and Australia.
“Due to the unique situation in South Africa, these cannot just be implemented without an impact assessment study,” she said.
Personal injury lawyer Henry Shields added that if you crash at a speed of 120km/h, your chances of survival are slimmer than if you had been driving at 60km/h .
“Driving slower is safer and it also saves on fuel consumption. Everything in South Africa is political and the current speed limits, or rather the lack of enforcement thereof, is a literal death trap,” he said.
Mayco member for safety and security JP Smith echoed the sentiment that the enforcement of speed restriction is key to reducing the annual carnage on our roads. He said there was much awareness, but drivers were still negligent.
“The City issues between 130 and 180000 fines per month, but the repayment rate is below 38%. In some provinces, it’s even below 9%. I believe we must increase the fine amounts, and hopefully this will have an impact on driver behaviour. I think we need to hit them where it hurts the most - in their pockets,” he said.
JP Smith
According to executive director for safety and security Richard Bosman, in the period January - March last year, 719005 traffic offences were recorded, with 1076 arrests, compared to 674661 offences recorded, with 1267 arrests in this year’s January - March period.
Weekend Argus