How to handle drink driving

Alcohol-related vehicle accidents cause thousands of injuries and fatalities every year and, in the transport and logistics sector, can also lead to stock loss, damaged reputation and massive collateral damage.

Curbing this significant problem requires logistics companies to take an active role. However, the laws of the country also need to be supportive. “These laws should stipulate the use of more advanced breathalyser technology, specifically interlock devices, to prevent vehicles from being operated if the driver is over the legal limit,” says Rhys Evans, managing director at ALCO-Safe.

A staggering 58% of the more than 14 000 road traffic deaths reported in South Africa in 2016 involved alcohol, notes a report from the World Health Organization (WHO), “Global status report on road safety 2018”.

“Tighter regulations should be instituted for the transportation and logistics sector,” says Evans. “Transport and logistics organisations have a responsibility to ensure that they are compliant with the Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Act, which specifies a zero-tolerance approach to alcohol in the workplace.

“This is especially important when the ‘workplace’ is our national roads, where we already have one of the highest rates of accidents and fatalities in the world.”

Evans adds that industrial breathalysers are readily available, and breathalyser testing of all drivers should be a mandatory component of a comprehensive programme to prevent driving while under the influence. “Yet specific policies also need to be put into place to support this.”

A possible solution is interlock devices: they require drivers to take a breath alcohol test before they can operate the vehicle. “Any driver whose breath alcohol levels are above a predetermined range will be unable to start the vehicle, theoretically preventing him or her from driving under the influence.”

But breathalysers and testing policies are only half of the battle. “While interlock breathalysers can be used to prevent vehicles from operating if the driver is under the influence, people will find loopholes,” Evans warns. “The most common is to simply get someone who is not intoxicated to blow into the breathalyser and start the vehicle. At present, there is no liability for these individuals for aiding and abetting drink driving, and therein lies the problem.”

Evans points out that Sweden is the best example of the successful implementation of interlock testing, with only 27 traffic fatalities per one million inhabitants in 2013, compared to around 250 deaths per million people in South Africa, as per the WHO report.

“The difference is that in Scandinavian countries, like Sweden, the laws support the use of interlock devices. Both the drunk driver and those responsible for enabling them to drive under the influence can be held liable and face full legal penalties. It is a criminal offence to operate a breathalyser on behalf of someone else – a factor that is critical in enforcing effective testing.”

Evans emphasises that if South Africa is ever to effectively address the significant problem of excessive alcohol consumption and drunk driving, legal enforcement is critical. “Breathalysers can be used as preventive measures, but no device is fully effective unless it is supported by the law. Legal changes, such as reduced legal limits and changes to liability, are critical components of an effective strategy to reduce alcohol-related accidents, injuries and deaths.”