Western Cape courts may soon automatically suspend or cancel the driving licences of convicted drunk driving offenders, even those caught for the first time.
Western Cape courts may soon automatically suspend or cancel the driving licences of convicted drunk driving offenders, even those caught for the first time.
A Wynberg magistrate “reluctantly” decided not to suspend or cancel the driving licence of a first-time offender this week, though he was fined R3 000 or 60 days, a report stated.
The offender was apprehended in June last year with a blood-alcohol level of 0,14 percent, nearly three times the legal limit of 0,5 per cent.
Magistrate Nomawethu Dembela-Smile reiterated the prosecutor’s concern that the public’s attitude towards drinking and driving was that it was “okay”. And while the courts have been lenient with offenders who needed their driver’s licences for work, she said this would soon change. With stricter legislation imminent, more severe penalties would soon be handed down to offenders.
