Almost 20 000 motorists have been arrested across South Africa over the past 11 months after being caught driving under the influence of alcohol.
Ashref Ismail of the Road Traffic Management Corporation said from October 2010 to September 2011, 19 780 drunk drivers have been arrested.
In the Western Cape, almost 50 drivers have been sentenced to jail for drunk driving in the past year.
“Since October 2010, 664 drivers have been sentenced in the province for drunk-driving offences, 47 of whom were sent directly to jail without the option of paying fines or serving another type of sentence.
“One was jailed for four years, six for three years and the remaining 40 for between six months and two-and-a-half years. A further 12 had their licenses cancelled,” said Ismail.
As part of traffic law enforcement operations over the weekend, he said 25 more motorists were arrested for drunk driving in East London.
On Sunday, a traffic officer attached to the National Traffic Police was arrested for bribery and corruption in Pretoria East.
Ismail said the officer allegedly accepted a R100 bribe from a motorist on Saturday, October 15. The motorist was also arrested for bribing a traffic officer.
The two were detained and appeared in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court on Monday, and the case has been remanded to November 17.
Last Thursday and Friday, almost 60 public transport buses were removed from service in Gauteng and North West through raids at various bus depots by the National Traffic Police, as part of the pre-December holiday clean-up operation.
A further 125 drivers, who failed to pay their traffic fines and did not contest the fines in court, were arrested on the East Rand last week by the Ekurhuleni metro police (EMPD).
Transport Minister Sibusiso Ndebele has reiterated that road users who disobey the rules of the road would face the consequences of their actions.
“We have already commenced with our December festive season law enforcement operations, and we want to warn road users that no mercy will be shown to any person who commits any traffic violation.
“During this Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020, traffic law enforcement will be intensified without compromise in order to make our roads safe. The carnage on our roads must be stopped,” he said. – BuaNews
