Durban, KwaZulu-Natal – A truck driver was arrested on the N3 highway in KwaZulu-Natal on 3 December 2025 after Road Traffic Inspectorate (RTI) officers found him heavily intoxicated and disoriented. The driver repeatedly claimed he was in Johannesburg despite being approximately 350 kilometres south of the city.
RTI officers conducted the stop. A breathalyser test recorded the driver’s blood alcohol concentration at 0.36 g/100 ml – 18 times higher than the legal limit of 0.02 g/100 ml applicable to professional drivers in South Africa and seven times higher than the general legal limit of 0.05 g/100 ml.
The truck was impounded, and the driver was detained. He faces charges of driving under the influence of alcohol, reckless and negligent driving, and contravention of the National Road Traffic Act. The arrest was confirmed by KwaZulu-Natal Department of Transport spokesperson Kwanele Ncalane.
MEC for Transport, Community Safety and Liaison Siboniso Duma commended the RTI officers and stated that the arrest formed part of the province’s #NenzaniLaEzweni road safety campaign launched in November 2025 to intensify enforcement on major routes.
Drunk Driving Fatalities in South Africa –
- South Africa’s road fatality rate is 25.9 deaths per 100,000 population (World Health Organization, 2023 Global Status Report on Road Safety).
- Alcohol is a contributing factor in 58% of fatal road crashes in South Africa (Road Traffic Management Corporation, 2023).
- The legal blood alcohol limit for professional drivers (including truck drivers) is 0.02 g/100 ml; for private motorists it is 0.05 g/100 ml (National Road Traffic Act 93 of 1996).
- In the 2023/2024 financial year, 11,883 people died in 10,180 fatal crashes nationwide (RTMC Annual Report 2024).
- Pedestrians accounted for 38% of all road fatalities in 2023 (RTMC).
- During the 2023/2024 festive season (1 December 2023 – 15 January 2024), 1,627 people died on South African roads; alcohol was confirmed or suspected in 31% of fatal crashes where testing occurred (RTMC Festive Season Report 2024).
- In the first 15 days of December 2024, 512 people died in 439 fatal crashes; 941 drivers were arrested for driving under the influence (Department of Transport preliminary figures, 16 December 2024).
- A 2021 study published in the South African Medical Journal examined 1,116 driver fatalities between 2016 and 2018; 52% tested positive for alcohol, with an average BAC of 0.16 g/100 ml among positive cases.
- Alcohol-related road crashes cost the South African economy R182.4 billion annually – equivalent to 2.9% of GDP (RTMC Economic Cost of Road Traffic Crashes, 2023).
- In 2024, the Western Cape recorded 1,427 road fatalities; alcohol was a factor in 42% of cases where toxicology results were available (Western Cape Department of Health Forensic Pathology Service, 2024).
- Between April 2023 and March 2024, 112,784 drivers were tested for alcohol nationwide; 13,892 were arrested for exceeding the legal limit (12.3% positive rate) (RTMC).
- In KwaZulu-Natal, 2,847 people died on roads in 2023; 41% of fatal crashes occurred at night when alcohol impairment is highest (KZN Department of Transport, 2024).
- South Africa records an average of 32 road deaths per day; on peak festive-season days this rises to over 50 (RTMC historical data 2019–2024).
The arrest of the truck driver on the N3 prevented a potential major incident on one of South Africa’s busiest freight corridors, where a fully laden articulated vehicle travelling at highway speed under severe intoxication poses a catastrophic risk to all road users.
