The cost of drunk driving

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Listen: Terence Pillay chats to Steve Middleton - Acting Head of Metro Police

South Africa has one of the highest vehicle accident rates in the world. And according to a report I read recently, it would appear that there are around fifteen thousand fatalities every year.

The country also has more drunk-driving related deaths than anywhere else in the world. This is according to the latest Global Status report on Road Safety for 2015, from the World Health Organization (WHO).

According to a report in Business Tech, alarmingly, the WHO noted that South Africa has the highest rate of alcohol-related road deaths, where as much as 58% of deaths can be attributed to alcohol consumption.

Back home Acting Head of Metro Police, Steve Middleton has launched a campaign to rid our roads of drunk drivers. Middleton and his team go out every weekend end setting up roadblocks to curb the scourge. And despite a number of arrests every week, Middleton says they are definitely winning the war.

Zanele Njapha is the Corporate Relations Manager for Diageo and the Spokesperson for an initiative called Drive Dry. Drive Dry is a non-governmental organization, or NGO, which was established in 2009 to curb drunk driving in South Africa. 

Drive Dry has “drive dry sessions” in most cities where they visit local bars and lounges to talk to people about drinking and driving. Njapha says the awareness should be done in places like bars to home in on exactly what the consequences of driving drunk are.

Do you get behind the wheel of a car even when you know you’re over the legal limit? And should clubs and bars take responsibility for allowing patrons or leave their establishments drunk and still drive their cars?

 You can email Terence Pillay at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter: @terencepillay1 and engage with him there