End of an era for drinking and driving, and R260 to drive from Pretoria to Joburg

Two traffic officers were injured in a confrontation with illegal street racers in Cape Town that also left three law enforcement vehicles damaged.

This is according to Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security JP Smith, who said law enforcement arrived on the scene of a street racing operation in Paarden Eiland.

Officers arrested two motorists for reckless and negligent driving and participating in an illegal street race at around 11 pm on Friday.

“At midnight, the racing started again, and officers arrested a third driver for participating in illegal street racing, drunken driving, failing to stop and malicious damage to property after colliding with a Traffic vehicle,” Smith said.

When law enforcement tried to take the vehicle, the crowd of spectators turned on the officers. Two were injured, and two more traffic vehicles were damaged. One car had its side and rear windows smashed.

The global Brent crude oil price remained steady at $102 per barrel overnight as investors await developments on potential US-Iran talks at the United Nations General Assembly this week.

US President Donald Trump will address the assembly in New York later today, and has opened the door to meeting his Iranian counterpart, Masoud Pezeshkian, on the sidelines.

That said, tensions in the Middle East remained as Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis attacked Riyadh and a Saudi Aramco facility in attempts to cut off Saudi-backed forces from the Red Sea coast.

According to Iranian sources, China has privately urged Tehran to help curb attacks by the Houthis after Saudi Arabia appealed to Beijing following a recent surge in the group’s military operations.

Trump is also expected to host a summit with China’s leader Xi Jinping later this week, opening more doors for diplomacy.

The South African rand has also remained relatively steady overnight, trading slightly weaker against the US dollar than a day ago, weakening from R16.24 to R16.26.

5 important things

End of an era for people who drive home from restaurants and bars in South Africa: The government hasn’t backed down from its plan to implement a zero-alcohol tolerance for motorists in South Africa, despite concerns that this will negatively impact businesses and responsible citizens [TopAuto].

R260 per day for petrol from Pretoria to Joburg: The average South African motorist will spend nearly R260 a day on the petrol needed to commute between Pretoria and Johannesburg if the price hits R30 per litre next month [MyBroadband].

Red flags over R2.6 billion owed to transport workers in South Africa: The National Bargaining Council for the Road Freight and Logistics Industry has listed R2.59 billion in worker benefit funds as its own property [BusinessTech].

Volvo taps Klaus Zellmer to take over as CEO by late next year: Volvo has selected a new CEO, but he’ll have some time to get ready before the official handoff. Klaus Zellmer will take the reins as president and CEO of Volvo Cars no later than 1 October 2027 [Car and Driver].

Porsche’s decline from crown jewel to millstone for parent Volkswagen: Long Volkswagen’s most reliable profit driver, luxury sports car maker Porsche, has become its ​biggest problem, creating a road bump for CEO Oliver Blume’s restructuring plans at Europe’s biggest carmaker [Reuters].