New shock for drunk drivers

Kornhub

Kornhub

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Cape Town - Tell tale signs of drunk driving, and not blood tests, will be enough to land motorists in trouble with the law as the authorities seek new ways to crack down on the problem before the festive season.

Now, the authorities announced in a joint show of force on Friday, they will turn back to an existing charge of “driving under the influence of alcohol” - rather that the more commonly used “driving with a blood alcohol limit over the legal limit”, which necessitates blood testing - which means drunk drivers could be fined up to R180 000, or face as long as nine years behind bars.

Blood tests are not necessary to secure such a conviction, traffic authorities, police and prosecutors confirmed during a press conference yesterday, which was hosted by the provincial traffic department, the provincial police and the National Prosecuting Authority.



With roadblocks planned across the province during the holiday season, traffic officials will instead be looking out for the telltale signs of inebriation – unsteadiness and an inability to perform simple tasks, such as walking in a straight line or picking up a bunch of keys.

The NPA’s Mark Wakefield said that instead of simply sending suspects for blood tests, traffic officers at roadblocks would primarily search for signs of drunk driving, to use as evidence in court.

The news has, however, already prompted a top criminal attorney and a forensic expert to warn that relying on the observations of law enforcement officials to determine sobriety could be risky.

William Booth warned the authorities that their change of tack would not be without its challenges. There could be a number of innocent explanations for behaviour which could be construed as drunkenness, he argued.

Forensic expert Dr David Klatzow agreed, pointing out that the rate at which alcohol was absorbed differed between people. The observations of law enforcement officials, including that a suspect’s eyes were bloodshot or he was unsteady, would also not be able to stand up in court when challenged by a skilled cross-examiner.

Klatzow’s view was that authorities should instead focus on ensuring that forensic laboratories, which test blood samples, work efficiently.



The decision came after a workshop at the NPA’s Western Cape offices yesterday, attended by traffic officials, police, Western Cape government officials and the NPA.

Wakefield’s NPA colleague, Christhenus van der Vijver, explained that there was a misconception that a motorist had to be drunk before being charged with driving under the influence. All that was necessary was for the State to present oral evidence from the law enforcement official and a district surgeon, he said.

Van der Vijver added that the benefit was that there was no need to wait for blood tests by overburdened laboratories.

There is currently a 12- to 13-month wait for blood test results, he said.

But Van der Vijver stressed that the move did not mean blood-alcohol tests would be abolished. It meant rather that the State did not have to rely on such blood tests for convictions.

Booth warned further that someone could have a drink and get into their car minutes later to drive home. By that stage, the alcohol had not moved through the person’s system, and their ability to drive was not impaired.

On the way home, however, the person was stopped at a roadblock and taken to a district surgeon on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol.

“It takes about an hour before the district surgeon examines the suspect and, by then, the alcohol has started to take effect,” he said.

Booth suggested that rather than changing tack in terms of law enforcement, the government could consider drastically improving the public transport system so that people did not have to drive after partying.



He added that law enforcement officials also needed to be trained in the law so that they knew when to arrest.

Over the past five years traffic officials have arrested 800 to 1 000 motorists a month for offences related to drinking and driving.

To date, the NPA has had a 90 percent conviction rate.

David Frost, head of traffic management in the Western Cape government, said more than 30 000 of the 31 323 blood samples sent for testing returned positive.

The change in focus comes about two months after a Western Cape High Court judge found that the State had not proved the blood test results in a drunk driving case, because it hadn’t followed proper procedures.
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http://www.iol.co.za/news/crime-courts/new-shock-for-drunk-drivers-1.1437659#.UMNLxqwnISE
 
Why did you place that one part in bold? There are already options for individuals. Blaming the government for not providing adequate public transport is no excuse for driving pissed.

Options:
1. Get pissed at home or someone else's house where you can stay over
2. Get a taxi
3. Make use of one of the many services that cater for the picking up of drunk drivers and their vehicles and getting them home safely (costs less than R150 per month for some).
4. Have a designated driver. If you are all true friends then one should not begrudge ensuring the others are safe. You can alternate.
5. Just don't get pissed. Age has shown that it is over-rated anyway.
 
ClintZA said:
Why did you place that one part in bold? There are already options for individuals. Blaming the government for not providing adequate public transport is no excuse for driving pissed.
Click to expand...

yep, I'd much rather pass out in a taxi that at least has an indication of where it's taking me than on a public bus
 
This will never stand up in a court of law...

suspicion is not enough to convict someone, no matter WHAT the NPA say. A judge will throw these charges out faster than anything.
 
ClintZA said:
Why did you place that one part in bold? There are already options for individuals. Blaming the government for not providing adequate public transport is no excuse for driving pissed.

Options:
1. Get pissed at home or someone else's house where you can stay over
2. Get a taxi
3. Make use of one of the many services that cater for the picking up of drunk drivers and their vehicles and getting them home safely (costs less than R150 per month for some).
4. Have a designated driver. If you are all true friends then one should not begrudge ensuring the others are safe. You can alternate.
5. Just don't get pissed. Age has shown that it is over-rated anyway.
Click to expand...

Me and the mates use Good Fellas :erm:

Just wish we had better public transport.
 
Korn1 said:
What is that?
Click to expand...

I guess it's like goodfellas, Mr Mila told me that he saw these Angels in Melville last night. He said they must be doing well because they have a number of cars in the area. ( he called them angels so I figured its the business name.)

I haven't seen any in ptown.
 
In high school and 1st year always used taxis, used to be cost effective!

Now we just use sober driver, rotate as needed!
 
a suspect’s eyes were bloodshot
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At 2am, my eyes are bloodshot whether I'm pissed or sober; I've been wearing contacts for 20 hours at that point! Good luck to the ofrificer trying to convince a judge (in his best broken English) that I was pissed, and not just tired, especially without video evidence. I guess this will result in more convictions of poor people who can't afford decent attorneys.

ClintZA said:
Why did you place that one part in bold? There are already options for individuals. Blaming the government for not providing adequate public transport is no excuse for driving pissed.

Options:
1. Get pissed at home or someone else's house where you can stay over
2. Get a taxi
3. Make use of one of the many services that cater for the picking up of drunk drivers and their vehicles and getting them home safely (costs less than R150 per month for some).
4. Have a designated driver. If you are all true friends then one should not begrudge ensuring the others are safe. You can alternate.
5. Just don't get pissed. Age has shown that it is over-rated anyway.
Click to expand...

1. Lack of sluts
2. Lack of taxis
3. Lack of services available on an ad-hoc basis, and lack of service to The Souf.
4. Too many pick-ups and drop-offs. No-one I know would volunteer.
5. Speak for yourself. I'm 32 and don't see drinking becoming any less entertaining any time soon.
 
So we have scenario:
1) You get ordered out of your car, have low blood pressure, so you feel slightly unsteady on your feet. The officer, eager to crack down on the problem of people driving while drunk, immediately arrests you.
2) You have a medical reason (brain operation) for not having good balance. You are not able to walk on their white line, nor pick up keys without steadying yourself. The officer saw the "problem", and throw in the back of his van.

If people get arrested falsely then the NPA will have a lot of lawsuits for wrongful arrests.
 
Nod said:
So we have scenario:
1) You get ordered out of your car, have low blood pressure, so you feel slightly unsteady on your feet. The officer, eager to crack down on the problem of people driving while drunk, immediately arrests you.
2) You have a medical reason (brain operation) for not having good balance. You are not able to walk on their white line, nor pick up keys without steadying yourself. The officer saw the "problem", and throw in the back of his van.

If people get arrested falsely then the NPA will have a lot of lawsuits for wrongful arrests.
Click to expand...

That is precisely the issue...

Their "markers" could have so many OTHER explanations, any judge is going to look at the prosecutor and the cop with a big :wtf: face whenever they bring something like this in front of him.

The problem is the time in the van and in the holding cells. I know my lawyer will have an absolute field day with the cops if they ever try this with me, and I'm not over the limit.
 
Nod said:
So we have scenario:
1) You get ordered out of your car, have low blood pressure, so you feel slightly unsteady on your feet. The officer, eager to crack down on the problem of people driving while drunk, immediately arrests you.
2) You have a medical reason (brain operation) for not having good balance. You are not able to walk on their white line, nor pick up keys without steadying yourself. The officer saw the "problem", and throw in the back of his van.

If people get arrested falsely then the NPA will have a lot of lawsuits for wrongful arrests.
Click to expand...

I'm sure if you smell like booze, it would be the final nail in the coffin. Drunk people have a tendency to look drunk.
 
ChocolateBadger said:
I'm sure if you smell like booze, it would be the final nail in the coffin. Drunk people have a tendency to look drunk.
Click to expand...

Ok, how about this...

Its 3am, I've been looking after my mates, haven't had a drop to drink, but whilst out I had a drink spilled on me. My clothes are now dry, but I will absolutely stink of booze. My eyes are bloodshot, and I'm unsteady on my feet because I'm absolutely shattered as well.
 
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