A strong warning has been issued to drivers who will drink and drive in KwaZulu-Natal.
The Minister of Transport in KwaZulu-Natal, Mr. Siboniso Duma, said that they will not say no to those who drive drunk in the province. He said this yesterday when he visited the Durban Station rink and the YMCA.
Duma said that their visit to these ranks, which are considered to be the busiest during the holidays, is about going to check the situation if everything is going well as it is being looked at during the Easter long weekend.
He said that a person who has been drinking has a problem with poor vision, and ends up not seeing well when he has to slow down. He pointed out that at their roadblocks, they have accompanied the ambulances to ensure that a person who is caught drunk, is taken on the spot.
“If it has been revealed that there is 0.8 alcohol, it shows that it has exceeded the legal limit,” said Duma.
He also reprimanded those who drive at high speeds, saying that causes accidents.
“It is true that during the transportation month of October as well as December, KwaZulu-Natal did not have such accidents among the industry,” said Duma.
He said that the violation of the law that the industry is used to encounter, the loading of people beyond the permissible number, as well as worn out tires.
“If you drive a car with bald tires, you should think that you are carrying people, and if you put on the brakes, the car can’t do what it should,” said Duma.
He said for those who will break the law, they should know that traffic police have been deployed everywhere, and roadblocks are scattered throughout the province.
“We are not sorry,” said Duma.
The spokesperson of the Durban Station Long-Distance Taxi Association, Mr. Mbangakeni Nala, in a roundabout way, assured Duma that there is no ‘old’ car in their ranks, saying that they have not been afraid of encountering accidents on the road.
“We are not afraid that the car will not reach its destination. And we do not have a problem with the tires (not in good condition),” said Nala.
Commenting on the increase in petrol, he said that they have no plans to increase the fee because they know that passengers are struggling.
“You can’t say that you were raising the fare yesterday, and then we say that we are raising the fare today,” he said.