{"id":705,"date":"2021-06-09T08:44:34","date_gmt":"2021-06-09T08:44:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.innov8fs.co.za\/blog\/?p=705"},"modified":"2026-03-18T11:46:45","modified_gmt":"2026-03-18T11:46:45","slug":"driving-under-the-influence-insurer-weighs-in-on-impact-of-new-alcohol-law","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.innov8fs.co.za\/blog\/2021\/06\/09\/driving-under-the-influence-insurer-weighs-in-on-impact-of-new-alcohol-law\/","title":{"rendered":"Driving under the influence: insurer weighs in on impact of new alcohol law"},"content":{"rendered":"

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JOHANNESBURG – Are you fond of having a beer after work and then driving home? You should note that once South Africa\u2019s new drunk-driving laws come into effect this month, you won\u2019t be allowed behind the wheel of a motor vehicle after even one drink.<\/p>\n

Currently, it\u2019s still legal to get behind the wheel if your blood-alcohol level is under 0.05g per 100ml. The new National Road Traffic Amendment Act totally prohibits the consumption of alcohol by all motor vehicle operators on South African public roads by setting the legal blood-alcohol limit for drivers at 0%.<\/p>\n

NO MORE GREY AREA<\/strong><\/p>\n

This has serious implications for South African drivers. If you\u2019re involved in an accident after having even a single drink, you won\u2019t just find yourself on the wrong side of the law, but it can also have a major impact on your insurance, warns King Price\u2019s customer experience partner, Wynand van Vuuren.<\/p>\n

\u201cInsurers have the right to refuse to pay accident claims if the driver\u2019s blood alcohol level is over the legal limit. This clause is included in almost every car insurance policy in SA. Previously, it was difficult to determine whether people were over the legal limit, and whether their driving ability was impaired. The new zero-tolerance approach removes this grey area,\u201d says Van Vuuren.<\/p>\n

IF YOU DRINK, THEY WON\u2019T PAY<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cIf you break the law by driving after drinking, your insurer has no obligation to meet your claim.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you\u2019re guilty of this offence, it\u2019s also likely that your premium will increase significantly, as you\u2019ll be considered a higher risk. In the worst-case scenario, if you\u2019re convicted of drink driving or have your licence endorsed or suspended, your current insurer may cancel your policy, and you may find it difficult to get car insurance at all in future.<\/p>\n

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LONG TERM BENEFITS<\/strong><\/p>\n

While the new law will potentially reduce the number of accidents caused by drunken driving, it won\u2019t immediately affect premiums, says Van Vuuren: \u201cIf we see fewer accidents due to fewer drunken driving incidents in the longer term, though, we may see premiums coming down due to lower claims costs for insurers.\u201d<\/p>\n

The new law won\u2019t see existing polices being altered, as most policies already stipulate that drivers must abide by the law. Therefore, the 0% legal blood alcohol limit will apply as soon as the new law comes into effect.<\/p>\n

The bottom line? If you\u2019re going to drink, make sure you have alternative transport, says Van Vuuren.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

JOHANNESBURG – Are you fond of having a beer after work and then driving home? You should note that once South Africa\u2019s new drunk-driving laws…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-705","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-innov8ions"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.innov8fs.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/705","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.innov8fs.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.innov8fs.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.innov8fs.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.innov8fs.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=705"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.innov8fs.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/705\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":708,"href":"https:\/\/www.innov8fs.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/705\/revisions\/708"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.innov8fs.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=705"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.innov8fs.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=705"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.innov8fs.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=705"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}