South Africa’s road incidents and deaths are often associated with major holidays. Consequently, the Easter and festive seasons travel frequently leads to an increase in fatalities. Therefore, to reduce these incidents and improve road safety, South Africa is set to implement significant reform changes in 2025. This is to avoid road incidents that have happened previously.
According to Transport Minister Ms Barbara Creecy, at the announcement of the preliminary 2024/2025 festive season statistics, “tragically, South Africa witnessed 1 502 deaths resulting from 1 234 fatal crashes during the 2024-2025 festive season”. These statistics highlight the growing concern over road safety in South Africa.
Speaking to eNCA, Mokebe Thulo, CEO of the Association for Alcohol Responsibility and Education (Aware.org), said, “in the previous year, at least 40% of road fatalities were attributed to pedestrians”, as the State of Road Safety in South Africa confirms.
Driver behaviour: Factors such as alcohol use, speeding, and fatigue contributed to this behaviour. Equally important, the violation of road rules and seat belts also contributed to this behaviour. The road safety program has been implemented.
Road safety programme in progress in Gauteng
Thulo said the road safety programme is already implemented in the Gauteng province. The programme also involves law enforcement from the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD) and Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC), which have a huge impact on road safety.
The JMPD’s responsibilities include traffic policing, crime prevention, and policing municipality by-laws. Additionally, the department guides the operation and maintenance of an efficient metropolitan police service.
RTMC is a government-led partnership between local, provincial, and national government spheres. Its aim is to enhance road traffic services, ensuring safety, security, order, mobility, and environmental protection through innovative technology implementation. Rules are updated to ensure road safety at all times.
Rules for Every Driver
Motorists are required to comply to the updated road rules. These rules include zero-tolerance of alcohol rules, child safety enforcement, and increased demerit penalties. This is to avoid facing heavy fines and permanent licence cancellation.
1. Zero-tolerance for drunk driving
With the new law, any known presence of alcohol in the body’s system is a contravention of the law.
This is under supervision on blood alcohol concentration as low as 0.02 grams per 100 milliliters for professional drivers. As well as 0.05 grams for other drivers apply.
Penalties for drunk driving are also updated. The new penalties are immediate arrest upon alcohol detection and driver’s licence suspension or cancellation. Additionally, up to R120 000 of fines or imprisonment, depending on severity, are new penalties.
Law enforcement has also increased roadside breath testing, particularly during night hours and holiday periods.
2. Stricter speeding penalties
Law amendments also consider increasing speed limits in areas with high accident risks, particularly near schools.
This is due to a significant increase in accidents related to speed. This results in heavier penalties being imposed on drivers.
Repeat offenders await court appearances, additional demerit points and potential imprisonment.
The government is also deploying more speed cameras, particularly in accident-prone areas, which significantly increases fines.
A R750 fine is expected for drivers caught driving between 10 and 20 km/h over the limit. For 20-40 km/h over, the fine is R2 000. An excess speed limit of more than 40 km/h could lead to a court appearance and a suspension of your driver’s licence.
3. Seat belt rules and enhanced child safety
An update on seat belt rules and laws has been implemented, and passengers are expected to be buckled in at all times.
Most importantly, children under the age of three years must be secured in a child car seat, with no exceptions.
The 2025 reform aims to reduce injury-related fatalities among toddlers and children in car accidents. It will do this by imposing up to R3 000 in fines and adding demerit points to a driver’s record for non-compliance.
Stay alert, stay alive!
South Africa’s updated traffic and road rules are aimed to improve road safety and reduce accidents. The key updates include zero-tolerance for drunk driving, stricter speeding penalties, and enhanced child safety regulations.
However, these changes are just the beginning, and more updates are on the horizon as the government continues to refine and strengthen traffic laws to protect citizens and visitors alike.
Which other traffic rules should be updated?
Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1.
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