NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
FOR WRITTEN REPLY
QUESTION NO 2442
DATE REPLY SUBMITTED: WEDNESDAY, 05 OCTOBER 2011
DATE OF PUBLICATION IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: FRIDAY, 02 SEPTEMBER 2011
(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: NO 27 â 2011)
Dr S M van Dyk (DA) asked the Minister of Transport:
(1) Whether any studies on driving under the influence of alcohol have
been conducted; if not, why not; if so, (a) what form did the studies
take, (b) what are the details of these studies, (c) what
recommendations were made by the studies and (d) which of these
recommendations were implemented;
(2) whether statistics are compiled to depict the correlation between
drunk driving and the serving and consumption of alcohol on domestic
and international flights; if not, why not; if so, what are the
relevant details with regard to (a) statistics, (b) trends and (c)
lessons learnt;
(3) what action plans are being studied to mitigate this?
NW2850E
REPLY:
The Minister of Transport:
(1) (a)
Yes, a study has been conducted that involved the random testing of
pedestrians and drivers throughout the country from Monday to Sunday
at any given time.
(b)
The study, which was conducted in 1995, was initiated as an
assessment of the drinking habits of South Africans after the
permissible Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) limit was decreased from the
previous 0,15 to 0,08. The study indicated that there was an increase
of 2.32 per cent drinking rate by pedestrians, and in relation to
drivers there was an increase of 0,40 per cent. In order for the
Department of Transport (DoT) to assess the current degree of drinking
and impact of alcohol on driving ability, we intend to conduct
research, which will be taking into account the current conditions and
living standards of South Africans.
(c)
The recommendations included, amongst others, that the permissible BAC
limit of 0,08 be reduced, the permissible blood alcohol content of
learners and drivers below the ages of 16 to 21 be reduced to 0,02,
legislation be introduced to regulate drunken pedestrians and the
monitoring of the drinking rate be continued on a national level.
(d)
The DoT reduced the BAC limit from 0,08 to 0,05 for ordinary drivers
and introduced a new limit of 0.02 which was applicable to drivers who
are holders of professional driving permits.
(2) (a), (b) and (c)
No, it would be difficult to implement and monitor as not all
passengers in an airplane would be driving a motor vehicle when they
have reached their destination. The mechanism that could be utilised
would be along the lines of conducting alcohol testing on drivers,
which test would be empowered by legislation.
(3) Research would have to be undertaken to have scientific and medical
backed interventions that are able to address the impact of alcohol on
driving.