Brewing company South African Breweries (SAB), in partnership with the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD), has handed over seven new Gauteng-based mobile Alcohol Evidence Centres (AECs) in Dube, Soweto.

The handover of these new mobile AECs, which took place on October 28, follows the handover of ten brick-and-mortar AECs to various municipalities across the country.

SAB partnered with government to develop the concept of AECs a decade ago. Through these AECs, authorities are provided the infrastructure, equipment and knowledge needed to make more arrests and reduce drunk driving incidents.

Between 2015 and 2017 South Africa saw a downward trend in fatal car accidents in which an intoxicated driver was involved. According to statistics from the Road Traffic Management Corporation, there has been an overall decrease in driver intoxication in fatal crashes over the last seven years, which might be attributed to improved policing owing to better access to resources and technology.

SAB claimed to have already seen a 44% reduction of alcohol-related accidents in the area following the implementation of an AEC in Pietermaritzburg.

The aim of the centres is to make South Africa’s roads safer by empowering authorities to enforce regulations with the necessary infrastructure and technology to help process drunk arrests.

The mobile AECs will aid authorities in their efforts to curb drunk driving across Gauteng, owing to their ability to be moved around to multiple hotspot zones as needed.

“Together with the JMPD, SAB believes more interventions need to take place to make South Africa’s roads safer. Our mission is to partner with traffic law enforcement partners in trying to combat road fatalities. This has been made possible through interventions such as the mobile AECs,” SAB stakeholder and government director Mduduzi Lokotfwako said at the handover.

He said the aim was to hand over a total of 50 AECs to police around the country by 2025.

Since inception over a decade ago, AECs have become crucial in helping law enforcement test suspected drunk drivers and confirm their breath limit using evidentiary breath alcohol testing and registered medical practitioners. The AECs are all fully equipped to also ensure that the evidence is properly collected and admissible in court.  

“Our aim is to also ensure that road fatalities are reduced in the City of Johannesburg - just as much as we want successful prosecution of the offenders. We are about to enter the festive season where we see increased incidences of drunken driving and a spike in road fatalities, so the opening of the AEC and the handover of the mobile AEC comes at a perfect time,” JMPD acting police chief Thulani Khanyile said.

The handover of the seven mobile AECs at the Dube Vocational Centre, in Soweto, was carried out in line with the aims and objectives of SAB’s responsible consumption platform SAB Sharp, which is geared towards encouraging a more responsible drinking culture in South Africa. 

Lokotfwako said the AEC handover reflected SAB’s broader responsible drinking goals, which is a set of programmes and initiatives focused on shifting social norms, consumer behaviours, and business practices.

Developed alongside public health officials, these goals support evidence-based solutions and independent, rigorous and transparent measurement and evaluation.

“Our goals are also designed to be collaborative and evolving. Working in partnership with public health bodies, civil society, and governments, we aim to implement evidence-based approaches, uncover new ways to reduce the harmful use of alcohol and act upon them,” Lokotfwako said.