Drinking and driving - police actions questioned

LEPHALALE – The issue of drinking and driving is a growing concern in Lephalale. In almost every community policing forum (CPF) meeting since 2015 the issue of people driving while intoxicated have been a topic of discussion.
“Until we find a solution for this growing problem, I will not remove it from the agenda of our meetings,” Thys Eloff, chairman of the CPF, said during the last meeting in April.
Residents have raised their concerns and took issue with the local police for allegedly refusing to take blood samples from some of the drivers who were visibly intoxicated. The excuse offered by the police was that they cannot take a blood sample from a person who is injured and needs medical attention. “While saving a person’s life is the most important part of any crash scene, police should remember that they can still take a blood sample that can be admitted as evidence in court if they follow the correct procedures,” says Caro Smit, founder and director of South Africans Against Drunk Driving.
Warrant officer Frans Mokoena from the Lephalale police says a member will only arrest and take a driver for blood tests when there are obvious signs that the person has been drinking. “The public should remember that a police member has the right to decide when a driver seems to be under the influence.”
Red eyes, smelling of liquor, talking loudly and an inability to walk in a normal way are some indications that Mokoena says police members look for when deciding whether a person is inebriated. “If a driver was severely injured and has lost a lot of blood we will not take a blood sample [and rather seek medical attention first], but when they have minor injuries it will be taken.”
Smit is adamant that If a driver was injured and needs to be taken to a hospital for medical treatment, the National Road Traffic Act (NRTA) allows that a member of the police accompany him/her to the hospital while another member goes to the police station to lay a charge and open a SAP308 (which requests the doctor or nurse to treat the driver and draw the blood). “No member of the SAPS is allowed to refuse to take a driver suspected of drunk driving to a medical practitioner to draw blood under any circumstances and if they do they should be reported to the Independent Police Directorate.”
Smit says most drips contain only saline water and glucose and blood can still be drawn from the arm that does not have a drip attached. “The doctor or nurse should record what is in the drip to help prove that nothing in the drip could alter the alcohol level and this should especially be kept in mind when there is alcohol in the drip substance.”
An accurate record of how much fluid was given to the patient should be kept an alcohol swab should not be used at any time with any drunk driving/alcohol query.
The NRTA Section 65(1) states that it is not strictly necessary to rely on a blood test to ensure a conviction when dealing with drunk driving. “If it happens that the two hours in which the driver should have been taken for blood tests have expired a police official of traffic officer can still write a comprehensive statement recording the behaviour and physical appearance of the driver as evidence in court.”
Although this procedure may be open to a lot of legal loopholes, Smit feels that a court trial is a great deterrent and teaches a costly lesson to perpetrators.
For Smit one reason for the low conviction rate regarding driving when drinking is a lack of training, knowledge and commitment from the police. “Police members often do not know that there are separate Acts under which the perpetrator can be charged and are not properly trained in presenting evidence in court. Experienced lawyers can often scare inexperienced cops and this can have a spiral effect by discouraging police members from arresting perpetrators because they do not want to testify in court.”