The SAB plans to work with government and communities as the beer giant tries to reduce alcohol-related deaths on the roads.
More than 10 years ago, the SAB partnered with government to develop alcohol evidence centres. Through these, the authorities are given the infrastructure, equipment, and knowledge to make arrests. So far, the centres have recorded a successful prosecution rate of drunk drivers.
Since then, more stakeholders have joined the initiative. In KwaZulu-Natal, the partners include the Road Traffic Information and Durban metro, the Polokwane traffic department in Limpopo, and the Johannesburg metro police department in Gauteng while partners in Eastern Cape include the Buffalo City and Nelson Mandela Bay provincial authorities.
Zoleka Lisa of corporate affairs at the SAB said the partnerships have also shared lessons with the Botswana traffic law enforcement delegation with the aim of spreading the alcohol evidence centres project beyond South Africa’s borders.
“The centres have become crucial in helping law enforcement test suspected drunk drivers and confirm their breath or blood alcohol limit using evidentiary breath alcohol testing and registered medical practitioners,” Lisa said.
She added that in Pietermaritzburg alone, they have noticed a true sense of the centres’ rate of success.
“In April 2020, this area experienced a 44% reduction in road fatalities, 1 500 arrests, and 422 successful prosecutions. The SAB aims to hand over and evolve AECs [alcohol evidence centres] with another 10 mobile structures by October [which is transport month] with the aim of 50 AECs by the end of 2025.”
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