Exactly five years ago, during an Easter weekend, research was produced suggesting that one of the few benefits of the alcohol ban during the height of Covid-19 was far fewer road accidents and fatalities.
During the past Easter weekend, at least 19 people died in road accidents in the Eastern Cape.
It is no coincidence that in the same period more than 200 people were arrested for drunk driving.
In its 2024 review of taxation of alcoholic beverages, the National Treasury pointed out that the financial harm caused to the gross domestic product (GDP) by alcohol far outweighed the level of excise revenue generated by it.
So, while the liquor industry contributed about 3% of GDP, the cost of “alcohol-related harms” amounts to about R250bn annually (about 11% of GDP).
That harm is calculated in terms of health care, welfare, infrastructure damage and lost productivity.
The Treasury tries to mitigate the harm by annually increasing the so-called “sin tax” on alcohol.
The 2025 budget saw a hefty 6.75% hike in excise taxes on alcohol — two percentage points above the expected inflation rate.
It is unlikely to reduce the harm, but may at least force the industry to contribute a bit more to the fiscus.
In one year alone (2018), the cumulative cost for all road crashes in the country was estimated at R166bn, with alcohol considered a “significant contributor to the total burden of crashes”.
There is therefore one obvious way that the public could contribute to a reduction in the financial harm which alcohol annually causes.
Don’t drive after drinking alcohol. The message is on billboards on highways and byways.
No matter how harsh the message, people manage to ignore it.
A decade ago, the Western Cape government’s Safely Home Campaign included controversial road signs that proclaimed: “If you drink and drive, you’re a killer”.
While the message may have been dramatic, it is also potentially true.
Every time people drink alcohol and choose to sit behind a wheel, it exponentially increases the chance they could cause a fatal accident.
These accidents also have a profound effect on individuals, families and communities who have to navigate the death of loved ones or a life devastated by permanent injury.
While the arrest of more than 200 people on drunk-driving charges is an indication that traffic law enforcement in the Eastern Cape is improving, even more needs to be done to stop these offenders in their tracks.
More focused roadblocks during long weekends and holiday times need to be set up.
The message has to be clear: If people cannot police themselves, they will face the full might of the law.
Daily Dispatch