South Africa’s speed limits vs the rest of the world

South Africa’s road fatalities are high relative to other countries, and policymakers have blamed high speed limits for contributing to the problem.

However, comparing South Africa’s speed limits to other nations shows that ours are not necessarily out of sync with the rest of the world. Our limits are high relative to some countries, but low compared to others.

In 2022, the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) announced several interventions to reduce fatalities on the country’s roads, including further limiting maximum speeds.

It claimed that the decision, which would align South Africa’s regulations with recommendations made by the United Nations to reduce speed by 10km/h, was binding for South Africa as a member of the United Nation’s roads council.

“We also have, as part of the overall 365 campaign, a focus on speed reduction,” the RTMC said.

This would see South Africa’s 60km/h residential speed limit dropped to 50km/h and its 120km/h limit reduced to 110km/h.

However, it said authorities have not yet begun a formal process to change the regulations, and it has since gone quiet on its intentions to reduce speed limits in South Africa.

MyBroadband compared South Africa’s speed limits to several other nations and found that they align exactly with China’s, which are relatively high in built-up areas.

However, the European countries we compared have higher speed limits for motorway driving.

The countries we compared are Australia, China, Denmark, Germany, Netherlands, New Zealand, Singapore, the UK, and the US.

South Africa and China are the only countries with a 60km/h speed limit for built-up areas, with most other nations enforcing lower limits.

It’s important to note that speed limits in the US vary from state to state.

While the lowest state-enforced limit in the country for built-up areas is 32km/h, West Virginia allows speeds of up to 89km/h on some of its roads in these areas.

The UK enforces the lowest overall speed limit on roads in built-up areas at 48km/h. Wales’ speed limits are even lower at 32km/h.

South Africa’s 100km/h speed limit for main roads is relatively common. Australia, China, Germany, and the Netherlands enforce similar speed limits on these roads.

Singapore’s 50km/h speed limit for built-up areas also applies to its main roads, and the UK’s speed limit is 97km/h.

Main road speed limits in the US range from 90km/h to 120km/h, depending on the state.

South Africa’s motorway limits are low in comparison to some nations, with Denmark, Netherlands, and the US allowing speeds of up to 130km/h.

In Germany, its autobahn or highway system doesn’t enforce any speed limits, but a maximum speed of 130km/h is recommended.

China’s motorway speed is similar to South Africa’s at 120km/h, while countries like Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, and the UK enforce speed limits ranging from 70km/h to 110km/h.

The table below compares South African speed limits to those enforced in Australia, China, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Singapore, the UK, and the US.

Country	Built-up areas	Main roads	Motorways
South Africa	60km/h	100km/h	120km/h
Australia*	50km/h	100km/h	110km/h
China	60km/h	100km/h	120km/h
Denmark	50km/h	80km/h	130km/h
Germany**	50km/h	100km/h	None
Netherlands***	50km/h	100km/h	130km/h
New Zealand	50km/h	110km/h	110km/h
Singapore	50km/h	50km/h	70km/h to 90km/h
UK	48km/h	97km/h	113km/h
US****	32km/h to 89km/h	90km/h to 120km/h	90km/h to 130km/h
*Speed limits in Australia’s Northern Territory are 10km/h higher than the rest of the country in built-up areas and main roads. The Northern Territory’s speed limit on motorways is 130km/h.
**Germany’s autobahns have no federally mandated speed limits but recommend a maximum speed of 130km/h.
***The Netherlands’ 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.
***US speed limits vary by state. The speed limits listed in the table represent the highest and lowest state-mandated limits.