South Africa’s government is moving to abolish all legal blood-alcohol limits for drivers, a shift that would introduce a full zero-tolerance approach and carry significant implications for the country’s beer, wine and spirits markets. Barbara Creecy, Minister of Transport, has confirmed plans to amend Section 65 of the National Road Traffic Act, ending decades-old allowances that currently permit limited alcohol consumption before driving.
The announcement was made alongside the release of the 2025/26 festive season road safety report, which underscored the scale of the problem. Between 1 December 2025 and 11 January 2026, authorities tested more than 173,000 drivers for alcohol, arresting 8,561 motorists who tested positive—an increase of 144% year on year. Although overall crashes and fatalities declined by around 5%, the figures reinforced political pressure to eliminate any ambiguity around drinking and driving.
Under current legislation, private motorists may legally drive with up to 0.05g of alcohol per 100 ml of blood, while professional drivers are limited to 0.02g. Creecy described these thresholds as outdated and “unacceptable,” arguing that any permitted level sends the wrong message in a country where alcohol is linked to a substantial share of road deaths.
Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Transport has backed the proposal and urged rapid implementation, potentially before the Easter travel period. The committee has also floated tougher sanctions, including lifetime driving bans for offenders, and called for increased roadside enforcement—measures that could further discourage alcohol consumption linked to car travel.
For the beverage industry, a zero-tolerance regime would likely accelerate existing shifts toward alcohol-free and low-alcohol beers, mocktails and alternative transport-linked consumption occasions. While the policy targets road safety rather than alcohol sales, brewers and producers may face indirect pressure as consumers adapt their drinking habits, particularly in suburban and rural on-trade locations reliant on car access.
