Johannesburg Travelling Tips

Accommodation South Africa would like to make your stay in our country as hassle free as possible. We have therefore compiled a few road safety tips and "Johannesburg travelling tips" for when you are driving around in South Africa.

General Tips

Road users drive on the left hand side in South Africa. It is customary to yield at traffic circles. There are very few exceptions to the rules of traffic circles, but if there is a discrepancy, it is usually well sign-posted.  Slow drivers stick to the left hand side in a double lane, thereby allowing the faster drivers to overtake without too much fuss.

Traffic lights have three colours; Green for drive, amber to slow down and stop if you can, and of course a red light which means a complete halt of your vehicle. The pedestrian crossings at traffic lights normally turn green at the point of you stopping, allowing pedestrians to cross from one side of the road to the next.

Pedestrian crossings other than at a traffic light is a universal white painted zebra crossing, and cars should stop if there is a pedestrian needing to cross. Unfortunately this doesn’t always happen, so check your rear view mirror to see how far any other cars are from your bumper, before stopping suddenly. 

South Africa Road Safety Tips

Always drive with your doors locked and handbags, cameras, etc, in the boot, or under the seats.  Try not to stop in deserted areas and preferably familiarise yourself  with the route of where you want to go beforehand, with the help of street maps. When leaving your car, please ensure that there are no jackets, bags, or anything of value which would be visible from the outside. There are unfortunately opportunists who would try and take advantage of  taking anything of value from your car, whether at traffic lights, or when your car is parked. Always be aware of your surroundings, whilst driving, and also disembarking.  Travelling anywhere in the world in unfamiliar territory  one should always err on the side of caution.

Not wearing seatbelts is against the law, as well as overcrowding your vehicle. There are several speed enforcing signs along the roads, with some of the roads having visible cameras to deter people from breaking the speed limit, but there are also lots of strips of roads with the signs, without visible cameras, but our traffic department regularly sets up speed traps, from a stationary car, with a hand held camera.
Major roads have a speed limit between 100-120km per hour, with roads built in and around suburbs having a speed limit 60-70km per hour.

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