Transport Minister Barbara Creecy wants to scrap South Africa’s legal blood-alcohol threshold for drivers and replace it with a zero limit, targeting Cabinet approval before the end of 2026. The proposal to amend Section 65 of the National Road Traffic Act was first reported by IOL and the Cape Times this week, following another devastating year on the country’s roads.
News24 previously reported that 8,561 drunk-driving arrests were recorded during the 2025/26 festive season alone, a 144% jump from the previous period, with over 173,000 drivers tested at 1,632 roadblocks. IOL now states that more than 6,000 road deaths have already been logged this year, though CapeFlats.co.za has not independently verified that figure.
Industry and advocacy groups have quickly split over the plan. South African Breweries Vice-President for Corporate Affairs, Zoleka Lisa, told the Cape Times the company’s position is clear: “If you are driving, there should be None for the Road.” The Motor Industry Staff Association’s chief executive for operations, Martlé Keyter, added that a zero limit would “send a clear message that no amount of alcohol was safe behind the wheel.”
But road-safety experts warn the law will mean little without far better enforcement. Kashifa Ancer of the DG Murray Trust’s Rethink Your Drink campaign told EWN that “even now with the 0.05 [limit], we’re finding it very difficult.” She explained: “A perfect legal limit achieves very little if the drivers believe that they’re unlikely to be tested or they’re unlikely to be caught.”
Ancer also raised the practical danger of uneven policing across the Cape Town metro. “What we also don’t want is for the 0.0 limit to be enforced, for example, in places like Pinelands, but in other areas like Mowbray, Khayelitsha, etc, we are a little bit more lax,” she said.
Johan Jonck of Arrive Alive told News24 the same concern in harsher terms. “It’s scary to think that one in every 20 drivers you encounter on the road may be a drunk driver,” he said, questioning current conviction rates. “I would like to see, in a few months, how many of those arrested were sentenced.”
Dr Busisiwe Kabane of the DG Murray Trust cautioned that a true zero-tolerance law needs support systems. She told News24 that decreasing the limit to 0.02g is “more realistic and enforceable” and must come with advertising restrictions and comprehensive policy reform.
The amendment still requires public comment and parliamentary debate before any change takes effect. What remains unknown is whether the government will also commit funding for more traffic officers and alcohol evidence centres to match the ambition of a zero limit. CapeFlats.co.za will follow the legislative timeline and check back when the bill is tabled.