Dear Minister Creecy,
The press reports over the past few months on the proposed zero limit for drink-drive prompt me to write to you expressing my opinion on the matter. I believe that reducing alcohol limits at this stage is unrealistic for the following reasons-

• Our death rate at 24.5 per 100 000 (2024) is almost 6 times the EU average of 4.4 per 100 000 (2024). Our death rate is 3 times their worst death rate of 7.8 per 100 000 (Romania)
• Our alcohol drink-drive limit of 0.05 grams per 100 ml is the same as their average limit. Is the lower limit in South Africa for commercial/profession drivers currently adequately enforced?
• Our pedestrian death rate is 45% of traffic deaths, or 11 per 100 000 versus the EU average at 18 % of traffic deaths or 1 per 100 000. Reducing ours to 18% of traffic deaths should immediately improve our overall death rate, saving over 3000 lives per year. This seems to largely be an infrastructure issue, mainly because of limited safe pedestrian walkways.
• Speeding is “encouraged” or at best condoned in South Africa by government legislation with a “bonus allowance” of 10 km/h excess. In typical South African fashion, motorists regard the speed limit as 129km/h “allowed” vs 120km/h published or 69km/h “allowed” vs 60km/h published. Removal of the 10km/h grace would go a long way to reducing speeding as long as it is properly enforced.
• The demerit system has had a 28-year gestation, and still not implemented, whereas most of Europe introduced the system more than 20 years ago. The latest amendment to our legislation was 7 years ago. This should be top priority for behaviour change to happen with our motorists.
• Minibus Taxis account for twice as many accidents as the crash rate for all other private vehicles combined. This speaks to the lawless attitude of many drivers, including numbers of unroadworthy vehicles. The taxi recapitalisation programme introduced 20 years ago was supposed to address this shortcoming.
• Cannabis was legalised in the recent past. Are traffic authorities equipped and trained to test for cannabis use for drivers?

Reducing alcohol limits to zero is tantamount to planting seeds on barren ground, given South Africans’ disregard for the law and poor law enforcement by traffic authorities.

I suggest that you first fix the demerit system, improve a safer environment for pedestrians, address the speeding gap in legislation and focus on proper enforcement of current laws. Once these are effective, we should have a more law-abiding traffic society and it may then be appropriate to tighten drink-drive laws further.