Efforts to curb drunken driving in the Eastern Cape got a shot in the arm with the opening of the new Alcohol Evidence Centre launched in the Nelson Mandela Bay Metro.
This follows huge numbers of drunken drivers recorded by the provincial traffic officers in the province reaching a high 4 488 between September 2009 and May 2010.
The new evidence centre is equipped with a number of dragger machines to test the breaths of drivers suspected to be driving under the influence of alcohol and allows easy and efficient processes of testing. This is a move from a cumbersome process which saw huge backlogs and delays in processing such cases.
Department's Head of Traffic Management, Charles Reynolds said: "Today we are here to celebrate a milestone, which will assist us in our traffic law enforcement activities and ensure that we deliver services to our people faster and smarter.
"The opening of this facility marks a permanent departure from a painful past, when our traffic officers used to wait for many hours in hospitals to process drunken driving cases due to the unavailability of relevant resources," said Reynolds.
South African Breweries' (SAB) Gavin Hudson said that alcohol abuse in South Africa has and continues to have detrimental effects on the lives of thousands.
"We at SAB are concerned about the levels of alcohol abuse in this country and are committed to playing a meaningful role in finding ways to combat it," said Hudson.
Speaking six days to the kick off of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Reynolds added that: "The state of readiness of our transportation system and our safety and security plans for the 2010 FIFA World Cup are already under extreme scrutiny, which compels us to accelerate our pace, especially on the tournament related activities".
According to Reynolds, at least 48 additional new vehicles have been received for provincial traffic officers.
"We will pay particular attention to all major routes and ensure that we check vehicles, especially public transport vehicles and all those that have been found to be not roadworthy would be removed from the road," he said.
Issued by: Department of Transport, Eastern Cape Provincial Government
4 June 2010
Source: Department of Transport, Eastern Cape Provincial Government
(http://www.ectransport.gov.za/)
