Drunk driving crackdown: SANDF soldier, nurse, and teacher arrested in KZN
The SANDF soldier was on-duty when arrested for drunk driving on Sunday.
Image: KZN Department of Transport
An on-duty soldier for the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) was among a group of drunk drivers arrested in KwaZulu-Natal at the weekend.
The provincial MEC for Transport and Human Settlements, Siboniso Duma, welcomed the arrests made during an operation by the Road Traffic Inspectorate (RTI) and Operation Shanela.
Duma said the arrest of the SANDF soldier by a "no-nonsense RTI officer" is a clear indication that nobody is above the law.
The soldier was arrested on Sunday, May 31, during the execution of the #NenzaniLaEzweni Operation in Ladysmith.
During this operation, 13 motorists were arrested for drunk driving, including a taxi driver with the concentration of alcohol in his blood 20 times over the legal limit. The taxi driver was carrying passengers.
A total of 59 motorists were arrested for drunk driving at the weekend across the province.
Duma said this brought the number of drunk drivers arrested since the beginning of the operation in August last year to 6,345.
“Importantly, last Friday, we announced the deployment of more than 2,000 highly efficient and no-nonsense Road Traffic Inspectorate and Operation Shanela teams throughout the corners of the province of KwaZulu-Natal. We wish to inform the people of this province that we ensured the free flow of traffic despite widespread fears of major disruption linked to the shutdown. There was no shutdown of traffic along the N2 and N3 freeways,” Duma said.
The MEC further thanked the Provincial Police Commissioner, Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, for deploying SAPS members.
Duma also explained that the motorists arrested for drunk driving were working professionals, such as:
- SANDF soldier
- Taxi driver carrying passengers (alcohol in his blood 20 times over the legal limit)
- Quality surveyor
- Nurse
- Teacher
- Data capturer
- Electrician
- HR officer