National Road Traffic Amendment Bill: public hearings

Meeting report

The Chairperson accepted an apology from Mr I Seitlholo (DA) and invited the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) to deliver the first presentation.

Submission by COSATU

Mr Matthew Parks, Deputy Parliamentary Coordinator, COSATU, said that the National Road Traffic Amendment Bill was a long overdue step in the right direction. Road accidents led to 14 000 deaths every year, robbing families of loved ones and breadwinners, and also led to billions of Rands in damage to the economy. The current laws were confused, ambiguous and insufficient to address the cultural abuse of alcohol, and COSATU therefore supported the blanket ban on drinking and driving.

Clear criteria for driving instructors needed to be developed and government needed to be empowered to deregister incompetent instructors and corrupt driving schools. COSATU supported provisions aimed at preventing traffic officials from having conflicting financial interests, although enforcement remained the biggest challenge. COSATU supported the empowerment of traffic officials to impound unroadworthy vehicles, rather than just issuing fines, although there should be controls to ensure that officials did not abuse such powers.

 Provisions to make licence plate manufacturing more secure were also welcome, as were new provisions on weighbridges. COSATU warned that driver’s licence cancellation should not be conducted recklessly, as many workers depended on being able to drive. The overhaul of the professional driving permit (PrDP) system was long overdue, as it was often used as a shortcut because the requirements were often less onerous than an ordinary driver’s licence.

Emergency vehicle provisions were clear and straightforward but the speed at which VIP protection services sometimes drove was an ongoing problem. They should not be allowed to exceed speed limits unless someone’s life was in danger.

Clauses on import exemptions were a bit vague. Some vehicles were converted to taxis illegally, and other vehicles came from countries with different environmental laws.

Mr Parks warned that the alcohol industry would oppose the blanket ban on drinking and driving, and said that when the Bill was passed into law, a massive public education campaign would be needed to ensure that all officials and the public were aware of their legal obligations. In addition, without the necessary resources it would be very difficult for traffic officials to implement any new laws.

Discussion

Mr C Hunsinger (DA) asked about the source for the figures in the presentation. He asked if COSATU had done anything to address corruption in driving schools, and in general, what ideas did it have to combat corruption? He asked Mr Parks to expand on how the abuse of licence cancellation provisions threatened jobs.

Mr L McDonald (ANC) did not agree with COSATU on banning drinking and driving completely. He noted that 40 percent of road accident deaths involved pedestrians. Reducing the maximum blood alcohol concentration (BAC) to exactly zero percent was too much, as it was possible for a person to inadvertently raise their BAC above zero percent through the use of alcohol-based sanitisers, for example. The biggest problem was the enforcement of laws.

Mr P Mey (FF+) disagreed with Mr McDonald. A reduction of the permissible BAC for drivers to zero percent was long overdue. He called for increasing the period for renewing a driver’s license from five to ten years. The long queues that people had to wait in were a big problem, especially for the elderly, and it seemed like it was just a money-making business.

Mr K Sithole (IFP) asked for clarification of how duplicated, stolen and poor quality licence plates undermined traffic laws. What was COSATU’s proposal? How should driver’s licence cancellation be handled to prevent undue harm to workers from corrupt officials? He also supported COSATU’s position on lowering the allowed BAC to zero percent.

Mr L Mangcu (ANC) observed that many traffic officials engaged in corruption were in fact members of COSATU. What was COSATU doing to address corruption among its members? Even if the legislation was changed, the same officials would be responsible for implementing it. He asked for clarity on what was ambiguous about the current BAC limit and breath testing procedures, and on how a PrDP application could function as a shortcut to a driver’s licence. He asked for tangible facts about corruption and incompetence in driving schools. Was COSATU suggesting that guidelines for emergency vehicles should be legislated or that its own members should push the South African Police Service (SAPS) to develop them?

Ms M Ramadwa (ANC) also wanted to know what COSATU itself was doing to address corruption by its members. She observed that a zero percent BAC limit was not realistic as certain foods and medicines contained small amounts of alcohol.

Ms N Nolutshungu (EFF) asked if COSATU could suggest any mechanisms that would prevent corruption and fraudulent licence plate production. There were certain practical challenges associated with impounding vehicles. What was COSATU’s suggestion?

Response

Mr Parks admitted that there were complex, long-standing issues. It was not possible for COSATU to constantly monitor road accident statistics. It sourced its statistics from various sources including the Automobile Association (AA), the Department of Transport (DoT), municipalities and the media. The information about corruption in driving schools came from media reports and testimony from COSATU members. There were some provisions in the Bill that would help to tackle corruption, such as the prohibition against traffic officials having any conflicting financial interests. He admitted that corruption was a difficult issue. As a trade union, COSATU represented the interests of workers, but its members should and did play a role in exposing it. For instance, two shop stewards in Vembe had in fact been murdered for exposing corruption. However there also needed to be clear and unambiguous laws. The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and SAPS had not always played their role, he added. Management should also be held accountable and lifestyle audits should be conducted. The Audit Amendment Act empowered the government to confiscate the assets of anyone involved in corruption but it had not been used very often.

There needed to be mechanisms at a management level to ensure that vehicle impounding was not abused.

The ambiguity of the current BAC limit arose from the fact that people had different alcohol tolerances and perceptions of their own alcohol tolerance. The Bill’s current proposal to reduce the BAC limit from 0.05 percent to 0.02 percent would make it unambiguous and clear.

Instead of increasing the licence renewal period from five to ten years, vacancies should be filled to speed up processing and reduce queue lengths. To reduce the prevalence of fake licence plates, a national electronic database should be created. The PrDP gave a person a great deal of responsibility and the system should be overhauled. The specifics of when different emergency vehicles were permitted to violate certain traffic laws could be prescribed in regulations. However, simply transporting a government official to a meeting did not constitute an emergency.

Submission by Alta Swanepoel & Associates

Ms Alta Swanepoel [Alta Swanepoel and Associates CC specialises in road traffic and transport legislation and drafting of road traffic and transport legislation] began by discussing several of the definitions in the Bill. She drew attention to a gap created by the definitions of “motor vehicle” and “pedal cycle:” Pedal cycles with a maximum design speed of between 25 km/h and 45 km/h were not covered. There was considerable confusion in the definition of non-motorised transport (NMT) vehicles in the Road Infrastructure Policy and the National Land Transport Act (NLTA). She proposed new definitions of “motor vehicle” and “pedal cycle.”

She discussed the definition of “public road” with reference to two recent court cases, which had established that private housing estate roads with controlled access were not public roads, whereas Cape Town Port roads behind boom gates were public roads. These cases had caused a great deal of confusion and she suggested that the committee might need to make some decision to clarify the matter.

She discussed the implications of another case, in which Brackenfell Trailer Hire had successfully argued that it was not liable for transgressions by drivers using its trailers, notwithstanding the principle that the owner of a vehicle or trailer was responsible for telling the authorities who was driving it. She suggested an amendment to section 73 of the NRTA to make it clear that the owner of a trailer was responsible for informing the authorities of the identity of the driver.

The definition of “instructor” should also be clarified. She said that further additions to section 3(I) should be included to indicate how impounded vehicles should be handled and suggested changes to tighten the conditions on foreign drivers using their licences in South Africa. She also suggested amending section 65 to prevent excessive punishments for minor traffic transgressions.

Discussion

Mr Hunsinger appreciated the detailed examples and the amount of time Ms Swanepoel had spent engaging with Bill.

Mr McDonald agreed that it was currently too easy for foreign nationals to get a PrDP and these parts of the legislation needed to be reviewed. He noted that sections of the NRTA on drinking and driving were not being properly enforced. He asked Ms Swanepoel to comment on a loophole through which the owner of a 10 ton truck could attach a 10 ton trailer to the truck without needing to comply with regulations applicable to 20 ton trucks.

Mr Mangcu asked Ms Swanepoel to comment on the impact of her proposed changes to the legislation on foreign drivers on Southern African Customs Union (SACU) and Southern African Development Community (SADC) protocols. He asked if there was anything that could be done through legislation to address roadworthiness testing corruption, perhaps through automation and traffic officer corruption, perhaps through vehicle and body cameras. Did Ms Swanepoel have any views on the use of open-sided three-wheelers as public transport? He wondered if provisions to block a vehicle licence for an individual whose licence for a different vehicle had expired could be used to force trailer owners to disclose information. He asked what if anything could be done to assist people who had been unable to renew vehicle licences due to COVID-19, who were now paying penalties for something that was not their fault.

Mr T Mabhena (DA) drew attention to a small section of private road leading to the City of Johannesburg precinct, a public institution that was used by hundreds of cars every day. Was it correct that an accident on this road would not be dealt with in terms of the NRTA? He observed that a private road on a farm, where a driver would not be putting anyone other than himself in danger, was very different from a private road in a housing estate, which might be used by thousands of people. Did these roads need to be reclassified? Citizens did need to be protected but the legislation should not open the State up to the risk of litigation by encroaching on private property rights.

Response

Ms Swanepoel explained that a 10 ton truck drawing a 10 ton trailer would be subject to legislation applicable to a 20 ton truck. She recalled that in the past, driving licence applications and vehicle testing had to be done where the applicant lived but now this could be done anywhere. This made it very difficult to trace corrupt activities. Bringing back local restrictions would make enforcement and accountability much easier and would also be much more resource efficient. She noted that there were regulations that would allow for vehicle licences to be renewed electronically, although these had not been implemented. This would reduce the burden on understaffed licensing centres. She suggested that punishing the people who paid bribes would also reduce corruption. The Criminal Procedure Act provided for setting traps to catch bribe payers. This would make people afraid of offering bribes.

She said that PrDPs from other SACU countries should not be disallowed, but there should be an additional form of identification.

With regard to the application of the law to private roads, the principle had always been that the NRTA applied to the user of a road, regardless of the owner of the road. The recent case had established that it did not apply to housing estates because access to the road was controlled. This was not the intention of the legislation, however, and she suggested that the legislation should be amended to ensure that the NRTA did apply to housing estates roads which might be used by thousands of vehicles every day. Estates should not be allowed to make their own rules.

Submission by the Automobile Association (AA)

Mr Layton Beard, Spokesperson, AA, said that the details of the proposals for microdot security were not sufficiently clear, nor was it clear that it was necessary. The AA called for a delay in implementing it and for more information on the intent and rationale of the microdot proposals.

The AA opposed amendments to section 11(1) of the National Road Traffic Act (NRTA) that would remove the involvement of the Shareholders Committee of the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) in the appointment of the Inspectorate of driving licence testing centres (DLTCs). This would give the Minister of Transport too much power.

The AA opposed changes to section 31 that would require the owner of a vehicle to ensure that whoever used the vehicle was licensed to use it as it could be interpreted to mean that the owner was obliged to help a person obtain a licence.

The AA felt it was premature to legislate the grading of driving instructors until the outdated K53 driving test was updated.

The AA was concerned that changes to section 62 created a definition of “emergency services” that would compel private emergency services to respond to road incidents without giving detail on cost and utilisation.

The AA strongly believed that reducing the permitted BAC to zero percent would be unlikely to achieve the desired outcome. If traffic law enforcement didn’t change, how would consumer behaviour change? Was a legislative change necessary? Research showed that lowering BAC limits did not reduce the prevalence of drunk driving unless it was accompanied by effective policing. The proposal to reduce the limit to zero percent also did not account for above-zero BAC levels resulting from religious activities, medication or medical conditions. The AA proposed a BAC limit of 0.02 percent along with public education campaigns and better policing at all levels.

Discussion

Mr Hunsinger appreciated the AA’s comments on section 11(1). He asked if the AA had any suggestions on updating the K53 test. He also appreciated the insight provided by the various studies cited by the AA and asked how they could be incorporated into the Bill. Were there any areas where the scope of the Bill should be widened?

Mr McDonald agreed with setting the BAC limit at 0.02 percent and with the need for improved enforcement rather than legislative change. For example, Mozambique had very relaxed alcohol laws but because these were enforced, they had lower levels of death due to drunk driving. Drunk driving and not wearing a seatbelt should be stigmatised, through education and, if necessary, shocking advertising.

Mr Mabhena agreed with the AA on the need to delay microdot proposals. It gave the government too much power if it was the only security technology that was regulated. He also agreed with the AA that section 11(1) should not be amended. The Department’s motivation for changing the procedure for appointing the Inspectorate of DLTCs was insufficient and the proposal would give the Minister too much power and prevent the executive from being held to account. He did not think it the grading of instructors was premature, however, although the Department needed to provide more information. He agreed that a zero percent BAC limit would be impractical. Instead, it was necessary to improve enforcement and clamp down on corruption.

Response

Mr Beard said that education on all aspects of road use, starting from the understanding of road signs and including the dangers of drinking and driving, should start at a young age, before patterns of behaviour were established. The Bill should provide for the inclusion of this kind of education in the school curriculum. Since the K53 test was introduced in 1996, vehicle technology and the volume of vehicles on the road had changed dramatically. The test needed to keep pace with these changes, otherwise it could not ensure that licensed drivers were also capable drivers.

Submission by the Southern African Alcohol Policy Alliance (SAAPA)

Mr Maurice Smithers, Director: South Africa, SAAPA, said that SAAPA supported the reduction of the BAC limit to zero percent because of the unacceptably high level of alcohol-related road deaths in South Africa. He cited global research to show that BAC limit reductions did have an effect if they were properly sustained, communicated and enforced. Drinking and driving needed to become socially unacceptable and it was possible to change a society’s culture of drinking over time. He compared the practical implications of a 0.05 percent and a 0.02 percent BAC limit: the latter would limit a person to 340ml of mild beer. He mentioned the case of Brazil, which had introduced a zero percent limit, leading to an initial sharp decline in positive breathalyser tests. The decline was not sustained, however, due to poor enforcement and communication, and the widespread availability of alcohol. These factors would be a challenge in South Africa too, he admitted. He noted that some countries had a different limit for novice drivers, and said that if South Africa’s limit ended up being 0.02 percent, it should still be zero percent for novice drivers. However, the view of the SAAPA was that the possibility of false positive test results was not a reason to raise the limit above zero percent, as there were other ways of mitigating this risk, such as advice to drivers and proper training of traffic officials.

There should be a sliding scale of penalties for infringements. Any BAC above zero percent up to 0.02 percent should lead to a warning, a BAC between 0.02 percent and 0.05percent should lead to a fine and/or demerit for general drivers and a criminal charge and licence suspension for professional drivers. A BAC above 0.05 percent should lead to a criminal charge and licence suspension for all drivers. SAAPA asked the portfolio committee to call on other departments and enforcement agencies to improve enforcement and eliminate corruption.

Discussion

Mr Hunsinger was very interested in the sliding scale of sanctions for violating BAC limits. He asked Mr Smithers to expand on references in the presentation to supporting efforts, people policing each other, and support from other departments. What additional steps could be taken, other than lowering the BAC limiting to zero percent? He also asked for some indication of SAAPA’s membership.

Mr McDonald said it was widely agreed that alcohol contributed to road accidents. However, there were many situations in which alcohol was consumed inadvertently. For example, an operating theatre nurse would, within 30 minutes, reach a BAC of 15 mg per litre, due to the use of alcohol-based sanitary products. The law should not infringe on the ability of people to do their jobs. He also said that Brazil had a zero-tolerance approach to alcohol-related infringements but the BAC limit for drivers was 0.02 percent.

Response

Mr Smithers explained that people policing each other was something that could emerge in a well-run society because it was in people’s best interests. The problem in South Africa was that alcohol had become so normalised and glamorised that it became almost impossible to exercise any kind of peer-group sanction against drinking and driving. Alcohol should be treated with great caution because ultimately it was a drug. Additional steps could include those recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO), such as banning advertising, reducing availability and increasing the price, all of which were already part of South Africa’s 2016 Alcohol Policy.

AAPA had seventeen alliance partners, including Sonke Gender Justice, the Teddybear Foundation and the Cancer Association of South Africa (CANSA). It was trying to build a social movement around the issue.

He acknowledged that inadvertent consumption was a genuine problem but said that it could be mitigated through the use of the latest technology and proper training of enforcement officers. He also admitted that there were conflicting reports about the situation in Brazil, but he had not read reports of a 0.02 percent limit.

Submission by the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC)

Prof Charles Parry, Director: Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drugs Research Unit, SAMRC, began by providing some statistics on traffic deaths related to alcohol in South Africa and some background on BAC limits in various countries. The SAMRC supported a zero-tolerance approach to drinking and driving. The BAC limit should be 0.02 percent to reduce the possibility of false positive tests due to medication. If the limit was zero percent,  cases below 0.02 percent should not be prosecuted. Drivers with a BAC between 0.02 percent and 0.05percent should be penalised with an administrative fine to reduce the burden on the criminal justice system. Cases above 0.05 percent should be criminally prosecuted.

Prof Parry’s own research had shown that 55 percent of heavy drinkers in South Africa supported lowering the BAC limit and 76 percent supported more widespread random breath testing. Evidence from Brazil, Sweden and Japan showed that lowering the BAC had a positive impact on alcohol-related road deaths, but the SAMRC’s research indicated that lowering the limit alone would not be effective. Other strategies could include more widespread breath testing, breath testing ignition locks for drivers previously convicted of drunk driving, mandatory testing of drivers at crash sites, legal liability for outlets serving obviously intoxicated persons, improved public transport and alcohol testing of transport-related trauma patients at hospitals.

All these measures should be accompanied by effective monitoring and evaluation. For example, the percentage of positive tests at roadblocks, and what action was taken in these cases, should be reported annually to parliament.

Discussion
Mr Mabhena said that if the simple legislative act of reducing the BAC limit did not have an impact on alcohol-related road deaths, then the Department should focus on other interventions such as improved enforcement. He observed that the examples of the effect of lowering the BAC limit that Prof Parry had provided were from distant countries. Was there any data from countries within the SADC?

Mr Mey said that after listening to Mr Beard and Prof Parry, he supported a BAC limit of 0.02 percent.
The most important thing was to use alcohol responsibly. He called for better enforcement of drinking and driving laws, including more traffic officers on the road.

Mr Sithole asked Prof Parry to explain why younger drivers were at a greater risk due to drunk driving. He asked if there were statistics on the types of cars involved in alcohol-related crashes. He was also concerned about the lack of reporting on roadside testing. This meant that there was no accountability for departmental officials. Why was there no reporting?

Mr McDonald asked whether any research or testing on road deaths related to drugs other than alcohol had been done or was planned. He did not think it was appropriate to make comparisons with countries where alcohol was banned, like Saudi Arabia. He noted that the focus of legislative efforts should not only be on drivers but on pedestrians too, who also caused many accidents when intoxicated.

Mr Mangcu asked whether Prof Parry’s submission was on behalf of the SAMRC or in his personal capacity. He asked for clarity on the different penalties that would apply to drivers at different BAC levels.

Mr Hunsinger asked what lessons could be learned from the radical reduction in trauma cases during certain phases of lockdown during which there were alcohol bans and curfews. How could they be applied in the current debate?

Response

Prof Parry clarified that lowering the BAC limit from 0.05 percent to 0.02 percent did have a significant effect. He admitted that there was very little data on low and middle income countries, which was a huge gap. This was one reason why South Africa should collect the data that the WHO needed. He agreed that better law enforcement was a crucial part of the solution. He explained that the reason young people were at greater risk was that they had less driving experience. They also started drinking at the same time they were learning to drive. He did not have any data about the types of cars involved in alcohol-related crashes. The use of drugs other than alcohol was prohibited and it was also an important issue to address. He agreed that comparisons with Saudi Arabia were not relevant. He also agreed that intoxicated pedestrians caused accidents, not only drivers, and suggested that certain road engineering solutions like the concrete barriers between pedestrian and vehicle spaces found in Tanzanian towns might be effective.

He said that the SAMRC did not have a formal process for coordinating statements made on its behalf, but was confident that as the director of the Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drugs Research Unit, he could speak on its behalf. He clarified that the BAC limit could be zero percent, but in that case only cases above 0.02 percent should be prosecuted. There should be an administrative sanction similar to a minor speeding fine for cases between 0.02 percent and 0.05 percent, and for cases above 0.05 percent, there should be a criminal sanction. The view of the SAMRC was that the lower level of trauma cases during lockdown was the combined effect of lower mobility and the alcohol sales bans.

The meeting was adjourned.