Soon there will be no more ‘one for the road’ South African drivers.
Minister of Transport, Fikile Mbalula, has formally introduced the National Road Traffic Amendment Bill to parliament which is poised to completely prohibit the consumption of alcohol if driving. South African Breweries (SAB) says the move is both necessary and welcomed.
Alcohol is often found to be the cause of many accidents on South Africa’s roads.
In as much as drinking and driving is prohibited, the legislation of breath alcohol content has been 0.24 per 1000 millilitres for all drivers and for professional drivers: 0,10 milligrams per 1000 millilitres.
SAB has pledged its allegiance to the implementation of the 0% breath alcohol content limit, tabled in the National Road Traffic Amendment Bill of 2019.
The bill was submitted by the government to parliament at the beginning of the year. It was reported that from June 2020, the new legal blood-alcohol limit for drivers would be 0%. This means that it will be illegal for motorists to drink and drive at all.
This legislation law forms part of the controversial Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (Aarto) Act signed into law last year. Zoleka Lisa, Vice President of Corporate Affairs at SAB said: “As a mother of three, the safety of my family on the road is always a major concern. I am 100% in support of Minister of Transport Fikile Mbalula’s commitment to implement a BAC 0% zero-tolerance policy by June 2020, and so is SAB as one of the largest players in the alcohol industry.”
Among other things, this is an effort to curb road accidents.
In a partnership developed with the Department of Transport and the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC), SAB’s Alcohol Evidence Centres (AECs) have been central to the implementation of the proposed BAC 0% bill.
“The AECs are SAB’s best effort to help equip law enforcement with the tools and support they need to effectively curb road accidents,” said Lisa.
Now that the COVID-19 pandemic has become a reality, the use of breathalysers and blood tests is in question.
Prior to the lockdown, the South African Police Services had already suspended the use of breathalysers during alcohol roadblocks. According to SAB it is already in talks with its partners to ensure that the COVID-19 pandemic does not create a gap in the system that puts lives at risk.
“Due to the nature of viral transmission, the use of breathalysers and blood tests has been put into question and more stringent regulations will be put in place. As our partners at the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC), and local authorities update procedures surrounding BAC testing in line with developing Department of Health regulations, we will continue to work with them to ensure our AECs remain operational and effective during these unprecedented times,” said Lisa.
