More Than 500 Motorists Arrested for Drunk Driving During Easter Weekend

• The minister of Transport, Barbara Creecy, reported that more than 500 motorists were arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol
• She briefed the media at the Kranskop Toll Plaza on the N1 in Limpopo on Easter Monday and was impressed at the effectiveness of law enforcement
• South Africans were not convinced that the police arrested all of the offending drunk drivers and some joked that they took drank and drove

For seven years, Tebogo Mokwena, a Briefly News journalist in Johannesburg, South Africa, covered accidents, fires, outbreaks, nature, weather and natural disaster-related incidents at Daily Sun and Vutivi Business News.

KRANSKOP, LIMPOPO — The Minister of Transport Barbara Creecy is impressed that the South African Police Service and law enforcement arrested more than 500 people from drunk driving over the Easter weekend between 18 April and 21 April 2025.

What did Barbara Creecy say about drunk driving?

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Creecy was briefing the media at the Kranskop Toll Plaza in Limpopo on 21 April 2025. She praises the law enforcement agencies, especially the Limpopo law enforcement agencies operating on the N1, for the work they did in keeping the roads safe.

There was a sharp increase in the traffic volumes from motorists travelling from different locations across the country. The N3 Toll Concession previously predicted that there would be high traffic volumes on 21 April.

Creecy said she was impressed that there was no fatal crash on the N1 during the Easter period. She noted that the lack of fatalities spoke to the effectiveness of law enforcement and the efforts in improving road safety.

Creecy also said more than 20,000 motorists received fines during the Easter weekend. She added that the Eastern Cape had the highest number of drunk drivers arrested.

Over 15 fatal accidents nationally

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The government also noted that there have been more than 15 fatal crashes during the Easter period in Gauteng. The Gauteng Traffic spokesperson Obed Sibasa noted that driving under the influence of alcohol, speeding and fatigue were major causes of accidents.

South Africans share their views

Netizens commenting on SABC News' Facebook page shared their opinions on the Easter weekend road statistics.

Don Thuli said:

"That's nothing. We have 50 million people and you only arrest. That's like 0.08% of the work done."

Llewellyn Van Wyk said:

"I was warned that for drinking and driving it's six years. We are going to ask the ANC to build more prisons which will mean more employment. But then the contract will be hijacked by high ANC officials. It will cost trillions to build one prison."

Modira Waga Leso said:

"Send them to jail and suspend the driving licenses for life."

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Kali Rofiwa Mashigo said:

"I gave them R150."

Mercy Doreen Breda said:

"They don't obey the rules of the road, especially the ones who drink and drive. Good job."

N4 crash claims 5 lives on Good Friday

In a related article, Briefly News reported that five people died and three were seriously injured when an SUV and a delivery vehicle collided on the N4 on 18 April. The incident happened between Machadodorp and Belfast in Mpumalanga.

The provincial spokesperson for Community Safety, Security and Liaison, Moeti Mmusi, said poor weather conditions played a part in the accident. He said the weather decreased visibility on the roads.

Source: Briefly News