In a study carried out in early October, TNS Research Surveys, South Africa’s leading marketing and social insights company, asked 2000 adults in South Africa’s seven main metropolitan areas to say whether they had driven a vehicle having had more alcohol than they should have. The study was funded by TNS Research Surveys as part of its continuing series of studies on issues of general social and political interest and has a margin of error of under 3% for the figures quoted.
How serious is the problem?
In a study, adults (aged 18 years and over) living in all the metropolitan area of South Africa, were asked to agree or disagree with the following statement:
- “In the last six months, you have driven a vehicle having drunk more alcohol than you should have.”
Agree – 16% , Disagree – 82%, Don’t know – 2%
This translates to about 1.9 million (± 0.3 million) people out of the total adult metro population of around 12 million. It is very roughly estimated that there are about eight million licensed drivers in South Africa of which probably about six million are in metropolitan areas. This means that an astounding one-third of metro drivers have driven a vehicle in the last six months having knowingly had more alcohol than they should.
There is little variation in the overall figure of 16% by gender. There is no significant variation either by age or income although there are very major differences by city:
- Gauteng – 21% say they have driven a vehicle having had more alcohol than they should have
- Johannesburg and environs – 23%
- Johannesburg excluding Soweto – 26%Johannesburg and environs – 23%
- Johannesburg excluding Soweto – 26%
- Soweto – 13%
- East Rand – 18%
- West Rand – 36% (highest)
- Vaal Triangle and South Rand – 29%
- Pretoria – 14%
- Cape Town – 11%
- Durban – 12%
- Eastern Cape – 8%
- Port Elizabeth – 10%
- East London – 5% (lowest with Bloemfontein)
- Bloemfontein – 3% (lowest with East London)
Gauteng generally (and especially the Johannesburg area and the West Rand, but less so in Soweto) have some alarming numbers. The coastal cities are generally lower with Bloemfontein having the lowest results.
Where does alcohol score on the scale of key issues?
In a recent smaller study of 160 cell-phone users, people were given a list of 16 potential issues and problems that we in South Africa face and asked to say how strongly they agreed or disagreed that each issue was indeed a problem. Alcohol abuse is seen as a serious problem, coming 6th:
- Proportion of people strongly agreeing that the issue below is a problem:
- Crime – 64%
- HIV/AIDS – 61%
- Corruption – 58%
- Poverty – 53%
- Unemployment – 52%
- Alcohol abuse – 52%
- Drug abuse – 51%
- Teen pregnancies – 50%
- Prices rising faster than my earnings – 49%
- Lack of housing delivery – 43%
Domestic violence – 43%
- Poor service delivery – 38%
- Tuberculosis - 36%
- Unreliable electricity supply – 31%
- Low economic growth – 29%
- Global warming and climate change – 26%
Our take-out
An alarming proportion of people admit to driving having had too much to drink in the last six months. As we move into the most hectic period of the festive season, it is clear that drunk-driving will be a serious problem, even though alcohol abuse is seen to be a major issue in our society.
Technical note
The study was conducted amongst a sample of 2 000 adults in the seven major metropolitan areas and has a margin of error of under 3.0% for the results found for the total sample. The smaller study of 160 cell-phone users has a margin of error of about 9% and should be seen as indicative only. The studies were conducted by TNS Research Surveys (Pty) Ltd as part of their ongoing research into current social issues and were funded by TNS Research Surveys. For more details, please contact Neil Higgs on 011-778-7500 or 082-376-6312.
Website: http://www.tnsresearchsurveys.co.za/
Editorial contact
TNS Research Surveys
Neil Higgs, Director: Innovation and Development
Telephone: 011-778-7500 or 082-376-6312
e-mail: Neil.Higgs@tns-global.co.za
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