21 June 2021 Mzansi_Catch Up_Mondays_With Val☺ #MCM’s With Val. By Valerie Mmanthe Mampshika
‘‘Hey Wena, Uzophuza Amanzi!’’ The National Road Traffic Amendment Bill is out, and as promised it takes a tough line on drunk driving in the Republic of South Africa. A draft of a proposal was approved by the cabinet of the state in March with the purpose of untightening the ropes of the law enforcement. The South African government is keen to carry out the new proposed law to ensure that the drunk driving limit is zero before the end of the year. The law will be applicable once the government has full criminal penalties for any citizen who is caught with any discernible level of alcohol in their bodies. There will be zero tolerance if there is a reading of a percentage above zero, and all the drivers in the country better be warned as statistics demonstrate that alcohol is one of the factors which contribute to the economy. Delays have come into play since the pandemic in terms of making new laws, however the draft has been released with the aim of banning all the South African drivers moving in between the zebra stripes if alcohol is detected in their blood or on their breath. Luckily, The National Road Traffic Amendment Bill does not alter the methodology of alcohol testing on roads, penalties or the sections of the current applicable legislation which is based on drunk driving, and permits drivers to not exceed the acceptable level of alcohol which is still 0,02%. The positive effect of the permitted level for South African drivers being removed out of the National Road Traffic Amendment Bill introduces prohibition for the consumption of alcohol for all the drivers in the country, surprisingly the transport minister Mr Fikile Mbalula stated that this prohibition would be introduced two months before the draft was submitted to the cabinet of the state for approval, and Mbalula’s decision was supported by the police chief Mr Bheki Cele. Many factors have an impact on the periodic process of the alcohol being metabolised in the body, despite this research has depicted that it takes approximately three hours for the hydrochloric acid to break down the alcohol in a single glass of wine, whilst a few drinks on a wild night out could still leave traces of alcohol in the blood the following morning.Since traffic officers are responsible for alcohol testing on the roads one of the questions which readers might possibly ask is if bribes will be received from the drivers. As cliché as it may sound #ArriveAlive and protect yourself along with your passengers. #Mzansi_Catch Up_Mondays_With Val☺ #MCM’s With Val
