Concern over drunk drivers in Cape Town

THE City of Cape Town yesterday expressed concern about the continued high levels of drunk driving. This comes after an allegedly drunk driver drove straight into a roadblock, damaging two patrol cars and injuring four traffic officers.

JP Smith, Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security, said: “The driver of a light delivery vehicle drove into a roadblock at 4.22am on Sunday at 35th Avenue and Lavis Road.”

The officers were discharged from hospital on Sunday.

According to Smith, metro police responded to two collisions in the Cape Town CBD and Khayelitsha, and in both instances it was found that one of the drivers was under the influence of alcohol. Both drivers were arrested for driving under the influence, as well as reckless and negligent driving.

He said metro police arrested 31 more motorists at vehicle checkpoints and roadblocks in Woodstock, Manenberg, Nyanga, Khayelitsha and Kirstenhof over the weekend.

“The absolute disregard that some people continue to have for the law is simply staggering. Drunk driving can never be condoned, and what makes it even more unforgiving is the fact that we’ve had a fairly wet weekend, so the roads would have been even more challenging for drivers.”

The city was monitoring nearly 1 500 drunk driving cases registered from last July to March. – ANA