Here’s how many people were arrested for drunk driving over the last 5 months

Creecy emphasised that road safety is a problem that requires the collaboration of all spheres of government. More than 18 000 people were arrested for drunk driving between March and the end of August 2026. Transport minister Barbara Creecy emphasised that road safety is a problem that requires the collaboration of all spheres of government. 18 000 arrested for DUI “Between March and the end of August this year alone, more than 18 000 people were arrested for drunken driving, accounting for a third of all traffic arrests during the period,” Creecy noted. She added that legislative amendments are being made to Section 65 of the National Road Traffic Act, to further tighten restrictions on driving under the influence, with the aim of moving towards a strict, zero percent blood alcohol policy. “We are in the process of acquiring approval from the Chief State Law Advisor and SEIAS approval to secure cabinet concurrence for this amendment by the end of 2026,” Creecy said. AARTO expansion Phase two of the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (AARTO) was launched on 1 July this year and is operational in 62 municipalities. Creecy said phase three will be implemented nationally, including in 151 outstanding municipalities, in 2027. This will be followed by phase four and the implementation of a demerit system. Infringement notice discount To encourage voluntary compliance with traffic laws, AARTO has launched a discount on infringement notices paid early, easing the burden on courts. “The new system will also provide greater deterrence to habitual reckless drivers through the possibility of a suspended licence,” Creecy added. Additional requirements have been added for scholar transport and to enforce the Land Transport Amendment Act. Additional requirements for operators Creecy explained that scholar transport operators must be registered, hold Professional Driving Permits, provide proof of annual roadworthiness checks for their vehicles, and enrol in an advanced driving course. “These additional requirements for operators have all been informed by the need for enhanced passenger safety measures,” Creecy noted. She explained that during the 2026 Easter long weekend the RTMC recorded the second-lowest crashes and fatalities over the past 4-year Easter periods. Collaboration to improve road safety “While these statistics are commendable, the numbers remain too high, and every life lost represents the loss of a loved one, a parent and a breadwinner,” Creecy emphasised. “We therefore need to ramp up and intensify our existing efforts to continue seeing a reduction in these figures,” she noted. Creecy said that a reduction in fatalities and crashes over the last few years was achieved through a coordinated campaign of collaboration between the Department, the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC), along with provincial and municipal traffic authorities. ‘We cannot normalise this’ “We cannot normalise our current situation of recording close to 12 000 deaths on South Africa’s roads annually,” Creecy stated. To reduce road fatalities, Creecy said she has been hosting weekly meetings with the nine transport MECs and their officials to receive regular updates on emerging trends in traffic monitoring and policing. “This has ensured that our focused road safety campaigns do not only occur during periods experiencing high traffic volumes such as Easter and the end-of-year festive season, and that we are able to regularly observe countrywide traffic trends and law enforcement performance throughout the traffic ecosystem.” Creecy concluded.