The South African National Taxi Council (Santaco) is looking at introducing a system of cameras and breathalysers that will stop its drivers from drunk driving.
This comes after Transport Minister Barbara Creecy announced her department’s strong stance against drinking and driving during the announcement of last year’s road safety report.
Santaco president Motlhabane Tsebe said the lives of customers are very important to the organisation, which is why it plans to implement this safety feature in its vehicles.
“Santaco must intensify road safety advocacy and comprehensive industry training across its full ecosystem, including drivers, marshals, patrollers, schedulers, and administrative staff,” he said.
Tsebe said the council is actively working on introducing breathalysers and cameras across its network of providers.
“Before the driver takes a trip, he must first use the breathalyser. The breathalyser will be connected to the car, and if alcohol is sensed, the vehicle won’t start.”
Tsebe explained that the process must be repeated during the trip as well, ensuring that the driver does not drink while driving or in between trips.
Alongside the implementation of breathalysers, Santaco also proposes the use of a camera system, which will allow the organisation to actively monitor drivers.
This, Tsebe says, will ensure that taxi drivers and operators “do the right thing.”
He announced that Santaco is accelerating its recruitment agency, which it hopes will fill gaps in its safety and compliance employment standards.
“We need to know who is driving our cars,” the Santaco president explained.
“We are busy gathering the data from our associations in different regions and provinces, so that we can be responsible.”
Minister Creecy stated that the government plans to reduce South Africa’s legal drunk driving limit to zero.
She outlined the Department of Transport’s plans to amend Section 65 of the National Road Traffic Act, which she called ambiguous.
Zero tolerance policy
The system, which Santaco plans to introduce, is nothing new, as Breath Alcohol Ignition Interlock Devices (BAIID) have been in use in various sectors for many years.
To combat drunk driving and reduce the risk of road accidents, many countries have implemented these devices for commercial fleets and drinking and driving offender programs.
Ignition interlock devices prevent drivers from starting or driving their vehicles while under the influence of alcohol by making use of technology that interlocks with a vehicle’s ignition.
Should a driver have a positive breath alcohol concentration result that is above the legal or preset limit, the vehicle can be prevented from starting.
The camera system proposed by the taxi council will also allow it to remotely monitor drivers, ensuring that they are not bypassing the system by employing the help of others.
This is also why Santaco proposed the need to re-test after a certain distance or amount of time.
Taxi drivers will be forced to abide by the law, or risk not being able to operate and generate an income.
During the briefing, Minister Creecy stated that preventable human behaviour, such as drinking and driving, remains the leading cause of road deaths in South Africa.
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