67 drunk drivers arrested, one stopped for a non-existent traffic light

This weekend, the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Transport arrested a motorist who was so inebriated that they stopped, waiting for a traffic light to turn green, despite there being no traffic lights at the intersection. The man was one of 67 motorists arrested in Umhlanga and Durban North this weekend as part of the department’s clampdown on drunk drivers. Department spokesperson Ndabezinhle Sibiya said the department and MEC Siboniso Duma were encouraged by the support received during the operation, but expressed concern over the number of drunk drivers arrested and the state they were found in.

Sibiya said RTI arrested 27 motorists in operations executed in both Umhlanga and Durban North on Friday and made a further 40 arrests on Saturday in an operation that focused on Durban North alone. The arrests are part of operation Nenzani La Ezweni [What are you doing in the country?], which will run 24 hours a day until May 3, with a strong focus on high-risk routes and reckless behaviour. Sibiya said some road users, after they were stopped by law enforcement, insisted that they were innocent, with one person insisting that they only drank tea, not alcohol. He said there is never an explanation for someone drinking drunk and that law enforcement will remain focused on holding culprits accountable.