{"id":786995,"date":"2024-08-17T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-08-17T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=786995"},"modified":"2024-08-16T16:30:19","modified_gmt":"2024-08-16T14:30:19","slug":"the-road-in-south-africa-with-a-250km-h-speed-limit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/motoring\/786995\/the-road-in-south-africa-with-a-250km-h-speed-limit\/","title":{"rendered":"The road in South Africa with a 250km\/h speed limit"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A section of the N14 between Kakamas and Pofadder in the Northern Cape has a speed limit of 250km\/h. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The speed limit on the 120km section of the highway is double the nation’s standard 120 km\/h. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to our sister publication TopAuto<\/a>, carmakers generally use the 250km\/h stretch of highway to test vehicles in hot weather conditions before putting them in production to ensure that they continue to work even in extreme heat. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Given the extremely small population in the area, the roads are incredibly are in relatively great condition due to being used sparingly. The highway is thus perfect for testing high-performance vehicles through their paces before handing them over to customers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Road users are also extremely aware of the 120km stretch, with big, yellow signboards station: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s nearly impossible to miss the 120km stretch; there are big, yellow warning signs posted at the start and end of the road reading. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, in a disappointing blow to car enthusiasts, only cars approved by the relevant authorities with a bright yellow sticker reading \u201cHigh-Speed Test Vehicle Approved By Government\u201d are allowed to hit 250km\/h on the highway. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Regular motorists will still be capped at the standard 120km\/h. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Several well-known manufacturers, including Bugatti, Porsche, and BMW, have tested their models on the stretch of road. <\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

South Africa vs the rest of the world <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although the 250km\/h stretch is double that of the nation’s regular limit, South African officials have previously called for a reduction in the nation’s speed limits. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2022, the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) announced plans to limit maximum speeds, along with several other interventions to reduce fatalities on the country\u2019s roads.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

South Africa’s regulations are in line with recommendations made by the United Nations to reduce speed by 10km\/h, which is biding for South Africa as a member of the United Nation’s roads council. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The drop would see the 120km\/h speed limit drop to 100km\/h, while the residential speed limit of 60km\/h would drop to 50km\/h. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

South Africa’s regulators are, however, yet to introduce any new initaivies to reduce speed limits. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>

<\/p><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite the push for slower roads, South Africa’s 120km\/h highway is broadly in line with many developed nations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Denmark, the Netherlands and the USA all have maximum speed limits of 130km\/h, with certain variations applied. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite state officials recommending a 130km\/h speed limit, Germany’s autobahn famously has no federally mandated speed limit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

MyBroadband<\/a> broke down the speed limits in South Africa vs other parts of the world: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Country<\/strong><\/td>Built-up areas<\/strong><\/td>Main roads<\/strong><\/td>Motorways<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><\/thead>
South Africa<\/strong><\/td>60km\/h<\/td>100km\/h<\/td>120km\/h<\/td><\/tr>
Australia*<\/strong><\/td>50km\/h<\/td>100km\/h<\/td>110km\/h<\/td><\/tr>
China<\/strong><\/td>60km\/h<\/td>100km\/h<\/td>120km\/h<\/td><\/tr>
Denmark<\/strong><\/td>50km\/h<\/td>80km\/h<\/td>130km\/h<\/td><\/tr>
Germany**<\/strong><\/td>50km\/h<\/td>100km\/h<\/td>None<\/td><\/tr>
Netherlands***<\/strong><\/td>50km\/h<\/td>100km\/h<\/td>130km\/h<\/td><\/tr>
New Zealand<\/strong><\/td>50km\/h<\/td>110km\/h<\/td>110km\/h<\/td><\/tr>
Singapore<\/strong><\/td>50km\/h<\/td>50km\/h<\/td>70km\/h to 90km\/h<\/td><\/tr>
UK<\/strong><\/td>48km\/h<\/td>97km\/h<\/td>113km\/h<\/td><\/tr>
US****<\/strong><\/td>32km\/h to 89km\/h<\/td>90km\/h to 120km\/h<\/td>90km\/h to 130km\/h<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody>
*Speed limits in Australia\u2019s Northern Territory are 10km\/h higher than the rest of the country in built-up areas and main roads. The Northern Territory\u2019s speed limit on motorways is 130km\/h.<\/em><\/td><\/tr>
**Germany\u2019s autobahns have no federally mandated speed limits but recommend a maximum speed of 130km\/h.<\/em><\/td><\/tr>
***The Netherlands\u2019 motorway speed limits vary based on the time of day. The speed limit is 100 km\/h from 06:00 to 19:00 and 130 km\/h from 19:00 to 06:00.<\/em><\/td><\/tr>
***US speed limits vary by state. The speed limits listed in the table represent the highest and lowest state-mandated limits.<\/em><\/td><\/tr><\/tfoot><\/table><\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n

Read<\/strong>: The average cost of a car in South Africa in 2024 \u2013 and what you can buy with it<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

South Africa’s maximum speed limit is usually 120km\/h, but a remote stretch of highway allows certain vehicles to hit 250km\/h. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":95,"featured_media":786999,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11119],"tags":[26,15728],"class_list":["post-786995","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-motoring","tag-headline","tag-topauto"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/786995","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/95"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=786995"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/786995\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":787319,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/786995\/revisions\/787319"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/786999"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=786995"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=786995"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=786995"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}