Cops blow into breathalysers, not excuses

Cops are out with new breathalysers at checkpoints everywhere, already nabbing drunk drivers from Mbare to Banket. They're impounding cars and sending people to court under a fresh crackdown. The government handed over a bunch of this gear last month, about a hundred devices with printers and disposable mouthpieces.

The legal limit is eighty milligrams of alcohol per hundred milliliters of blood. Get caught over that, and you're looking at huge fines or even five years inside. They're especially harsh on bus and truck drivers, who could get locked up for a decade. The police boss, Stephen Mutamba, said most crashes are from human error and warned they'll be out in full force. A council official, Lizwe Bhunu, was on Seke Road talking about awareness campaigns, telling people to lay off the booze and put down their phones.

They've teamed up with the national anti-drug committee, which is chaired by Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri, for these roadblock education drives. Another official, Munesu Munodawafa, called the collaboration unique, hinting they suspect some drivers are on more than just alcohol. The message is basically don't speed, don't overload, wear a belt, and for god's sake, don't try to cross flooded rivers. The whole operation is framed as a permanent shift, not just a holiday thing.