Proposed zero limit for driving meets resistance

A proposal by Transport Minister Ben Martins to impose a zero limit on drinking and driving, has met with opposition from several quarters. Western Cape transport MEC Robin Carlisle has written to National Transport Minister Ben Martins to inform him of his concern. He argued that the country did not have a structure in place to manage and enforce such a law because of the turnaround time for blood tests and the lack of breathalysing at national road blocks, except by Western Cape and metro traffic. “Also, virtually all of the countries with the best safety records – Britain, France, Germany, the United States and Australia – have some sort of minimum legal a lcohol level that can be tested for in drivers,” he told the newspaper. He reportedly proposed that more effort be put into improving the turnaround time for blood results at state laboratories and into behaviour-changing campaigns. A case for lowering the legal blood-alcohol level to zero was put forward in a presentation to the inter-ministerial committee on substance abuse. Sapa