By Charmaine Ndlela
The City of Tshwane has stepped up its road safety campaign against alcohol abuse and drinking and driving through its existing partnership with the Association for Alcohol Responsibility and Education (Aware.org).
The initiative saw the Tshwane Metro Police Department (TMPD) receive educational and promotional material from Aware.org this week as part of a continuing campaign to educate residents about the dangers of alcohol abuse and its impact on road safety.
The handover took place at the TMPD headquarters and was attended by TMPD Chief of Police Commissioner YCR Faro, Deputy Commissioners, senior TMPD command and Aware.org chief executive officer Mokebe Thulo.
Tshwane and Aware.org signed a five-year partnership agreement in June 2025 aimed at reducing alcohol-related harm on the City’s roads through a combination of enforcement, education and public awareness.
Following the handover, the delegation proceeded to a roadblock on Kgosi Mampuru Street, where educational material was distributed to motorists.
The initiative formed part of the City’s efforts to combine law enforcement with public education to improve compliance with road traffic legislation and encourage responsible behaviour among road users.
MMC for Community Safety Ald Hannes Coetzee said partnerships between government and responsible organisations were important in strengthening road safety interventions.
“This partnership reflects a principle we hold firmly: The rule of law on our roads is upheld most effectively when institutions of state and responsible corporate citizens act in concert to educate our residents,” Coetzee said.
He said the TMPD had a responsibility to enforce road traffic laws while partnerships such as the one with Aware.org helped extend road safety messaging into communities.
“We carry the mandate to enforce road traffic law without fear or favour, and partnerships such as this one with Aware.org strengthen that mandate by extending its reach into public consciousness,” he said.
The campaign comes amid continuing concern about early alcohol use among young South Africans and the role alcohol plays in road crashes.
The Department of Social Development says the average age of first-time alcohol experimentation in South Africa has fallen to 12, with children in some provinces beginning as young as nine or 10.
Coetzee said alcohol abuse and drinking and driving should be treated as serious threats to public safety rather than simply poor decisions by individuals.
“We regard alcohol abuse, and drinking and driving in particular, as more than a lapse in judgement. It is a violation of the law, and a direct threat to the safety of every resident who uses our roads,” he said.
South Africa’s National Road Traffic Act 93 of 1996 sets the legal blood alcohol concentration limit for ordinary drivers at 0.05 grams per 100 millilitres of blood. The limit for professional drivers is lower, at 0.02 grams per 100 millilitres.
The government has indicated that it intends to amend the legislation towards a zero-alcohol limit, but the existing limits remain in force.
Research by the Road Traffic Management Corporation has estimated that alcohol is implicated in at least 27.1% of fatal crashes involving driver error, with researchers cautioning that the figure was an extrapolation and could be conservative.
Coetzee said education was necessary to ensure motorists understood the consequences of alcohol abuse before lives were lost.
“Education matters to us because it equips our residents with an understanding of these dangers before harm occurs, not only after,” he said.
He said combining education with enforcement could help create greater accountability among motorists.
“Where our education efforts instil understanding of consequence, our enforcement provides the certainty of it,” Coetzee said.
The roadblock on Kgosi Mampuru Street provided an opportunity for TMPD officials and Aware.org representatives to engage directly with motorists and reinforce messages around responsible alcohol use and road safety.
The City said the campaign was not intended to be a once-off intervention, but formed part of its ongoing commitment to resident education and safer roads.
Coetzee said the City expected residents who received the educational material to share the message with others in their communities.
“We are committed to educating our residents on the dangers of alcohol abuse and road safety consistently, not only during isolated campaigns,” he said.
He said the City’s presence at the roadblock demonstrated its continued resolve to protect residents and strengthen road safety.
“This is not a message we deliver once and forget – it is a demonstration of our sustained resolve, supported by our partners, to protect the lives and well-being of everyone who calls Tshwane home,” Coetzee said.
