Motorists facing new permanent driving ban in South Africa

The Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Transport has called for a permanent driving ban for motorists caught driving while under the influence of alcohol.

This follows Transport Minister Barbara Creecy’s statement that the government plans to reduce the legal blood alcohol driving limit to zero, effectively banning all alcohol usage for drivers regardless of the amount consumed.

The committee voiced its support for the new zero-tolerance policy and took things one step further, arguing that motorists caught drinking and driving should face more severe consequences, including “being banned from ever having a licence to drive.”

In a recent statement, the Portfolio Committee said that high number of road fatalities seen over the 2025/2026 holiday period was unacceptable and that more needs to be done to improve safety for motorists and pedestrians.

Minister Creecy argued that the country’s current blood alcohol limit of 0.05g/100ml was established decades ago and that a new, unambiguous zero-tolerance stance is required to address excessive consumption.

Furthermore, the committee wants these changes to be implemented within the next three months, stating that the new policy should be in effect before the next major holiday over the Easter weekend.

“The committee supports the consideration of a total ban on alcohol use on the roads,” said committee chair Donald Selamolela.

“It is clear now that decisive action is required. Otherwise, during the Easter period in three months, high fatality figures are likely to persist.”

Selamolela claimed that drunk driving cases have reached alarming levels in South Africa, contributing to a majority of all road accidents.

He said that the committee has been too lenient in the past and that more decisive action is needed to bring about a meaningful change in driver behaviour.

“The committee and its predecessors may not have exercised sufficient rigour in their oversight role. The committee supports the consideration of a total ban on alcohol use by drivers,” he said.

“Liability should be placed where necessary, and transgressing drivers should face stiff sanctions, including being banned from ever having a licence to drive.”

South Africa needs more police officers

Department of Transport spokesperson, Collen Msibi, recently warned that South Africa has a severe shortage of traffic officers.

The country only has around 22,000 traffic police, which are expected to monitor 14 million motorists every day.

Msibi said that drinking and driving incidents have reached a “crisis level” and that drunk pedestrians play as much of a role in road deaths as drunk drivers.

Selamolela echoed these concerns, saying that South Africa needs to recruite more police officers to monitor the roads more effectively.

“The roads have increasingly become sites of non-compliance with traffic laws because drivers know police will look away. That must come to an end,” he said.

“Delays in acting on this matter risk further preventable loss of life on the country’s roads. These are deaths that could have been avoided.”

This isn’t the first time the idea of a zero-tolerance drinking policy and stricter punishments for driving offences has been put forward, as former Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula introduced the National Road Traffic Amendment Bill to Parliament in 2020.

The bill included a proposal to scrap South Africa’s drunk driving allowance with a new limit of zero; however, the bill ran into multiple delays and was a contested issue in parliament.

The transport committee ultimately rejected the proposal, and the bill was amended to remove the alcohol limit change before being signed into law by President Cyril Ramaphosa in December 2024.