Collective solutions are critical to putting an end to the scourge of drunk driving in South Africa, with public-private partnerships being posited as a solution, South African Breweries (SAB) director of communities Heidi Bartis said this week.

She pointed out that such partnerships are already assisting in evidence-based solutions to the deadly problem.

Alcohol-based centres (AECs) are a joint project with government law-enforcement bodies to help enforce blood-alcohol limits and accelerate the prosecution of offenders.

Bartis explained that research from the Road Traffic Management Corporation, in collaboration with the South African Medical Research Council, found that drunk driving accounts for 27% of fatal crashes in South Africa.

“With the [0% blood alcohol content] Bill set to go into effect this year, these AECs are our best tool to help equip law enforcement to effectively curb the rate of fatal road accidents,” she said.

Bartis nonetheless called for more partners to join initiatives to fight drunk driving, saying more partners can garner better results.

In line with the World Health Organisation’s call for a 50% reduction in road fatalities by 2030, the AECs are meant to be a means of accelerating evidence gathering and prosecution of drink-driving offenders, as well as a measure to dissuade potential drunk drivers from offending in future.

“Currently, law enforcement uses blood testing to test drivers which takes too long for effective prosecutions, and does not deter intoxicated individuals from driving,” she said.

In this regard, Bartis said the AECs' evidential breath alcohol testing technology is an alternative test that provides immediate results that are acceptable to courts.

The AECs are set to be operated by law enforcement officers in hotspot areas. This provides immediate evidence to take cases forward.

She said a pilot project in Pietermaritzburg had confirmed the effectiveness of the initiative, and that SAB was looking to set up ten similar facilities around the country.

In one year, from April 2019 to April 2020, the Pietermaritzburg AEC made 1 500 arrests, and more than 400 successful prosecutions for drivers under the influence of alcohol – achieving a 44% reduction in road fatalities in the area of the AEC.

Further, Bartis said there was a serious road safety problem around the world, with 1.35-million people dying each year as a result of traffic crashes, while South Africa’s rate of 27 fatalities per 100 000 people was significantly higher than the global average.

“There's also a huge cost to the economy at about R142-billion every year – 3.4% of the country's gross domestic product. According to the World Health Organisation, South Africa has the highest number of drunk driving incidents,” she stated.

This is a serious concern, that requires serious action, said Bartis.

“At SAB, we have invested and we have committed to a more effective solution for curbing drunk driving. “Our country’s prosecutors are fully on board and compulsory training for law enforcement officers is also being conducted,” she said.