Mass arrests for drunk driving
uMhlathuze Municipality Communications Manager Mdu Ncalane told the ZO that the operation over the weekend was just a taste of what motorists could expect on the roads over the holiday season
THE City is clamping down on drunken drivers, with 17 arrests made over the last weekend.
uMhlathuze Municipality Communications Manager Mdu Ncalane told the ZO that the operation over the weekend was just a taste of what motorists could expect on the roads over the holiday season.
‘The traffic department carried out an operation from Friday up until Sunday. Provincial Road Traffic Inspectorate (RTI) officers were also carrying out operations.
‘During the festive season, we are planning to carry out 24-hour operations around the City, some of which will be with SAPS. The aim is to keep the roads as safe as possible.’
As of 1 December, a total of 43 706 vehicles have been stopped and checked by RTI officers as part of the festive season enforcement plan aimed at promoting safety on provincial roads.
‘Officers issued 3 745 written charges for various offences and 967 motorists were charged for clocking up high speeds. Furthermore, 285 motorists were charged for driving without a licence.
Since the beginning of December, 81 drunk drivers were arrested in KZN.
In the past weekend, the driver of a minibus taxi was arrested in Umdloti, Durban on Sunday afternoon, for driving while being 13 times over the legal alcohol limit. His alcohol reading was 1,33mg/l.
In addition to driving under the influence, a total of eight motorists were arrested for speeding since 1 December and the highest speed clocked was 193 km/h on the N2 in uMkhomazi. The speeding motorist was driving a VW Polo and was granted bail of R3000.
Furthermore, the number of road crashes decreased from 83 to 68 since 1 December, which represents a 18.07 percent decrease compared with the same period in 2018, while the number of fatalities also reduced from 115 to 79 during this period – a 31.30 percent decrease.
MEC KwaZulu-Natal Transport, Community Safety and Liaison MEC Bheki Ntuli warned that those who continue to undermine the authority of the state will face the full might of the law as additional law enforcement authorities have been deployed on all major roads as part of the rolling festive season integrated safety plan.
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