The majority of accidents are caused by human factors like drinking before getting behind the wheel, or driving while texting.

I saw a woman applying her makeup in her car the other day. While I commend her attempts to multitask, there’s a time and a place for these things. I’d be surprised if she made it through Cape Town traffic without a fender bender.

We’re heading into the silly season in a few weeks, which means that the roads get a little more dangerous.

Last year, the road death toll over December decreased to 1 527, an 11% drop from the previous year.

Despite the decline in road deaths, that number is still high, which is why the government is implementing a series of changes to South Africa’s traffic laws that they hope will improve the situation.

BusinessTech took a closer look at the three planned changes that you need to look out for.

Speed Limits

The Department of Transport is currently reviewing South Africa’s speed limits.

Department spokesperson Ayanda Allie-Paine said the proposal could see the baseline top speeds across the country’s roads reduced by 20km/h.

This would effectively drop the speed limit on the country’s highways from 120km/h to 100km/h, while the top speeds on main roads would drop from 100km/h to 80km/h.

Speeds in residential areas would decrease from 60km/h to 40km/h.

An impact assessment study will be conducted to determine whether the change is a viable one.

Drunk Driving

Uber, Taxify, and other ride-hailing services have made it possible for you to reach your destination without getting behind the wheel after a few drinks, but people are still taking chances.

The Department of Transport and the Road Traffic Management Corporation are therefore reviewing the current drunk driving laws with the aim to drop the legal blood-alcohol level to 0%. This means that you won’t be able to drink at all before driving.

The National Road Traffic Act (NRA) currently differentiates between normal drivers and professional drivers (those drivers who hold professional driving permits).

For normal drivers, the concentration of alcohol in any blood specimen must be less than 0.05 gram per 100 millilitres, and in the case of a professional driver, less than 0.02 gram per 100 millilitres.

If you do drink and drive, you could find yourself facing some harsh punishments.

Demerit System

South Africa’s new Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (Aarto) Act will be in full effect from June next year (2020).

The act will introduce a demerit system that will fine drivers violating certain traffic laws with demerit points. If you accumulate 12 points, you could lose your licence, operator card, or permit for three months, for each point accumulated over 12.

If you incur 15 demerit points, for example, the suspension period will be nine months.

While we’re on the topic of licences, you should probably know that the Western Cape Provincial Government is asking for public comment on a proposal to raise the fees of various car licences across the Cape for 2020.

According to Cape Town Etc, the proposed increase is 4,5%, which is in line with inflation.

You can view the changes, compared to current fees, here, along with info on how to comment on the proposal.

We’re all looking forward to a bit of time off in the upcoming weeks.

Whatever you’re up to this festive season, do it safely, and when in doubt, call an Uber.

[source:businesstech&capetownetc]