MEDIA RELEASE
NO. 41/ 2010
25 JANUARY 2010

Traffic Officers practised a policy of zero tolerance this weekend when they conducted various speed checks and roadblocks.

In a roadblock held on Kommetjie Road in Fish Hoek, 85 motorists were tested for drunk driving, resulting in 39 arrests. These suspects were not taken to the Shadow Centre and instead had their blood drawn by a registered nurse.

Officers also conducted manual speed checks on Tygerbergvalley Road in Durbanville. They stopped and charged 97 motorists, with the highest reading indicating a speed of 113 km/h in a 60 km/h zone.

At this speed check, 14 drivers were arrested for drunk driving, including a 17year-old learner driver. When officers tried to stop him, he almost knocked them down in his attempt to get away. A member of the Ghost Squad pursued the suspect, who drove at high speeds and ignored five red traffic lights. He was subsequently caught, arrested and charged with drunk driving and reckless or negligent driving. He was then taken to the Shadow Centre where a breath sample was taken. His reading registered 0.61 – more than twice the legal limit of 0.24. Four of the other drivers failed to stop and were pursued and caught by the Ghost Squad.

“The fact that the learner driver is a youngster, was speeding with another young passenger in the vehicle, and thought he could outrun the officers is a grave concern”, says Chief Inspector Merle Lourens, media spokesperson for Cape Town Traffic Services.

“Speed, coupled with the consumption of alcohol, is a bad mixture and inevitably leads to accidents, injury or even death. Under-aged drinking should not be tolerated, even in the home. Parents need to play a pivotal role in the upbringing of their children to discourage them from succumbing to such practices”, says Lourens.

In addition, a total of 60 drivers brought in by the City Traffic Services, Metro Police and South African Police Services (SAPS) were tested at the Shadow Centre between the hours of midnight on Friday night and 06:00 on Sunday morning.

Motorists were also charged for 51 other defects on their motor vehicles.


END

ISSUED BY:
COMMUNICATION DEPARTMENT
CITY OF CAPE TOWN


MEDIA QUERIES:
KEVIN JACOBS
TRAFFIC SERVICES
TEL: 021 918 2310 CELL: 083 264 9661

MERLE LOURENS
CHIEF INSPECTOR: TRAFFIC SERVICES
TEL: 021 918 2514 CELL: 072 200 1512