ROAD SAFETY CAMPAIGNS FAILING ON DRINK-DRIVERS - MAGISTRATE

MBABANE –Magistrate Ndumiso Shongwe has said road safety campaigns by members of the Royal Swaziland Police have failed to change the attitudes of drink-drivers. The magistrate was speaking in court yesterday when he heard the case of Mzwandile Hlatjwayo of Ezulwini, who had been charged with drink-driving.

He conducted his own defence and pleaded guilty to the charge. 
Hlatjwayo is said to have driven a Nissan Sentra sedan near Ezulwini along MR103 Public Road on Saturday while under the influence of alcohol or an intoxicating drug.
Shongwe said despite the campaigns run by the police to warn drink-drivers about the dangers of driving a motor vehicle after they have drunk alcoholic beverages, there seemed to be no change in the attitudes of drivers.

The national commissioner of police recently launched the ‘Siyavutsa Bhe’ campaign in a bid to reduce, if not eliminate, incidents of drink-driving on the country’s roads this festive season and going forward.
“There is a rise in the cases of drink-driving and we deal with more and more of such cases on a weekly basis. It appears as though the campaigns run by the police have had no effect and seemingly they have not been able to change the attitudes of drink-drivers,” said the magistrate.

Apart from drink-driving, Hlatjwayo was further slapped with the charge of driving an unroadworthy vehicle and failure to produce his driver’s licence.
In mitigation, he told the court that he forgot his driver’s licence at home and pleaded with the court to be lenient with him.

The court found him guilty. He was sentenced to 15 months imprisonment with an option of a E1 500 fine on the charge of drink-driving and five months with an option of a E500 fine for each of the other two charges.
The sentences are to run concurrently which means that he will pay a fine of E2 000.  

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