Between 2023 and 2025, the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD) recorded 26,578 arrests for driving under the influence of alcohol, an average of roughly one arrest per hour across the three-year period. The figure covers arrests recorded from January 2023 to December 2025. 

The figure comes from a joint review by AWARE.org and JMPD of drinking-and-driving enforcement data in the city.

While previous reporting highlighted individual years, reviewing the full three-year period provides a more complete picture of recorded DUI arrests and helps identify patterns that may not be evident in a single year. One pattern that stands out across all three years is the concentration of recorded arrests in the evening. Between 18:00 and 23:59, arrests accounted for 80% of all recorded DUI arrests in 2023, rising to 84.7% in 2024 and 85.9% in 2025. The highest individual volumes were consistently recorded between 20:00 and 23:00.

For AWARE.org and JMPD, this finding provides useful evidence to strengthen the year-round work already underway. The pattern can help inform how enforcement operations and public education are planned and targeted around the times when recorded DUI arrests are most concentrated.

It is important to distinguish arrest activity from the overall prevalence of drinking and driving. Arrest figures reflect what enforcement detects and do not, on their own, measure the total number of people who drink and drive or establish whether drinking and driving or road harm has increased or decreased.

The findings build on the AWARE.org and JMPD Drive Sober, Stay Alive initiative, which brings together enforcement, public education and research to address drinking and driving in Johannesburg.

“An average of one arrest every hour for three years is a reminder that drinking and driving cannot be something we focus on only in Transport Month or the festive season. Our work with JMPD continues throughout the year, and the three-year review helps strengthen that work by giving us a clearer picture of where recorded arrests are most concentrated and where prevention and education can be better targeted,” says Mokebe Thulo, CEO of AWARE.org.

Taking the message beyond Transport Month

Transport Month places national attention on safe and reliable transport throughout October, but drinking and driving is not an October problem. AWARE.org and JMPD work throughout the year to address drinking and driving through enforcement, public education and prevention.

The three-year review reinforces this ongoing approach. The consistent concentration of recorded DUI arrests in the evening provides useful evidence to help inform enforcement and prevention activity throughout the year.

“Our officers are on Johannesburg’s roads every day and every night of the year,” says Xolani Fihla, spokesperson for JMPD. “The three-year data gives us a clearer picture of when recorded DUI arrests are most concentrated. This evidence can help inform our ongoing operations and how we work with partners on prevention and education throughout the year.”

Turning evidence into prevention

The wider partnership between AWARE.org and JMPD is focused on using evidence to strengthen drinking-and-driving prevention and encourage safer choices among road users. It combines JMPD’s operational experience and enforcement evidence with AWARE.org’s work in alcohol harm reduction, prevention and behaviour change.

For AWARE.org, the value of the data lies not only in counting arrests, but in understanding the patterns behind them. Better understanding can help inform more targeted interventions and, ultimately, support behaviour change.

AWARE.org will share further findings from the review over the coming months, unpacking the patterns behind recorded DUI arrests and what these findings can tell us about drinking-and-driving behaviour. These insights will help inform prevention, public education and enforcement planning.

For road users, Shiyi’moto carries a practical message: if alcohol is part of the occasion, plan how you will get home before drinking, and keep drinking and driving separate.

Reducing drinking and driving requires a shared response from government, law enforcement, industry, civil society and individuals.

“The decision about how you’re getting home should happen before the first drink. Planning ahead is one of the simplest ways we can reduce the risk of drinking and driving and make the right choice for ourselves and everyone else on the road,” concludes Thulo.