The Department of Transport plans to amend Section 65 of the National Road Traffic Act (NRTA) to remove the legal alcohol limit for drivers in South Africa.
Currently, the law allows drivers to have up to 0.05g/100ml of alcohol in their blood or 0.24mg/1000ml in their breath. Professional drivers are subject to stricter limits of 0.02g/100ml blood or 0.10mg/1000ml breath.
Transport Minister Barbara Creecy said the current law is outdated and needs to change.
“Our driving and drinking policy was formulated almost 30 years ago. In today’s South Africa it is totally unacceptable that there is a law that allows people to drink and then drive.
“The time has come for us to amend the law, so we have a clear-cut, easy to understand and unambiguous policy that says drinking and driving is not allowed. A law that allows drivers to drink a certain amount and get behind the wheel of a car must be scrapped,” Creecy said.
The Minister was speaking during a media briefing held with Deputy Minister of Transport Mkhuleko Hlengwa, where the department released the road safety report for the 2025/2026 festive season. The report covers the period from 1 December 2025 to 11 January 2026.
According to preliminary data from the Festive Season Road Safety Campaign, 173 695 drivers were tested for driving under the influence of alcohol. Of these, 8 561 tested positive.
This represents a 144% increase compared to the same period last year.
Despite this, the data shows a 5% reduction in both road crashes and fatalities during the festive season compared to the previous year.
“This year, a total of 1 427 fatalities were recorded from 1 172 crashes this year. The data shows that the 2025/26 festive season recorded the lowest number of crashes in five years, and the same number of fatalities as in 2023/24 festive season,” the Minister said.
During the festive period, law enforcement officers set up 1 632 roadblocks, stopping and checking 1.8 million vehicles.
More than 450 000 traffic fines were issued, and 525 motorists were arrested for excessive speeding.
The Department of Transport also reported an overall decline in road crashes and fatalities for the full year of 2025.
Preliminary annual data covering the period from 1 January to 31 December 2025 shows that road collisions and deaths were the lowest in five years.
“A total of 11 418 fatalities were recorded from 9 674 crashes in 2025 compared to 12 581 fatalities from 10 633 crashes in 2021.
“Furthermore the 2025 crashes decreased by 6.4% when compared to 2024 and fatalities decreased by 6.2% in the same period,” the Minister said.
