The general speed limits
Regulation 292 sets three, and they apply unless a road sign says otherwise.
| Where | Limit |
|---|---|
| Every public road, or section of one, inside an urban area | 60 km/h |
| Every public road outside an urban area that is not a freeway | 100 km/h |
| Every freeway | 120 km/h |
These are the defaults. A sign showing a different number changes the limit for that stretch of road — which is why the sign always beats what you remember.
Lower limits for particular vehicles
Regulation 293(1) sets limits that attach to the vehicle rather than the road. It has exactly two paragraphs; there is no third.
| Vehicle | Limit |
|---|---|
| A goods vehicle with a gross vehicle mass over 9 000 kg | 80 km/h |
| A combination of a goods vehicle and one or two trailers, where the masses together exceed 9 000 kg | 80 km/h |
| An articulated vehicle whose truck-tractor has a gross combination mass over 9 000 kg | 80 km/h |
| Any breakdown vehicle towing another vehicle | 80 km/h |
| A bus | 100 km/h |
| A minibus or midibus operating under an operating licence | 100 km/h |
| A rapid transport bus, and a rapid transport bus-train | 100 km/h |
A vehicle in the 80 km/h group must display a sign on the rear saying so, and one in the 100 km/h group must too.
When two limits apply, the lower one wins
This is the part that catches people out, and it is the part a test question is usually built on.
A class limit is a ceiling on that vehicle, not a permission. A goods vehicle over 9 000 kg is limited to 80 km/h — that does not mean it may do 80 in a 60 zone. Inside an urban area the road's 60 still applies to it, because the lower of the two is the one that governs.
It works the other way too. On a freeway posted at 120, that same goods vehicle is still held to 80. The road's limit does not lift the vehicle's.
"Urban area" is not the same as "where there are houses"
The 60 km/h default applies inside an urban area, which is a defined thing rather than an impression. In practice the change is signposted, and the sign is what you act on.
The safe reading for a test question and for driving: 60 unless something tells you otherwise, and something usually does.
The mistake
Treating a speed limit as a target. The limit is the maximum in good conditions, not the speed to hold in rain, fog, heavy traffic or at night.
The second one is assuming a higher posted limit overrides a vehicle's own limit. It does not — and that is precisely the shape of the question that gets asked about heavy vehicles and buses.
Check your rules-of-the-road section
Speed limits sit in the rules section, which is the largest of the three and passed on its own. The free readiness test tells you where you stand in each section separately.
Take the free readiness testCommon questions
What is the general speed limit in South Africa?
60 km/h on a public road inside an urban area, 100 km/h outside an urban area on a road that is not a freeway, and 120 km/h on a freeway. Regulation 292 sets all three.
What is the speed limit for a truck?
80 km/h for a goods vehicle whose gross vehicle mass exceeds 9 000 kg, for a goods-vehicle-and-trailer combination over that mass, for an articulated vehicle whose truck-tractor exceeds it, and for any breakdown vehicle towing another vehicle.
What is the speed limit for a bus or minibus taxi?
100 km/h for a bus, and for a minibus or midibus operating under an operating licence. A rapid transport bus and bus-train are also 100 km/h.
Can a truck do 80 in a 60 zone because its class limit is 80?
No. Where a road limit and a vehicle limit both apply, the lower governs. In a 60 zone the truck is held to 60; on a 120 freeway it is still held to 80.
Does a speed limit sign override the general limit?
Yes, for that stretch of road. The general limits in regulation 292 are what applies where nothing says otherwise.
Sources
- National Road Traffic Regulations, 2000 — regulation 292"General speed limits": 60 km/h within an urban area; 100 km/h outside an urban area other than a freeway; 120 km/h on every freeway.
- National Road Traffic Regulations, 2000 — regulation 293(1)Speed limits for particular classes of vehicle, made under section 59(3) of the Act. Paragraph (a) sets 80 km/h for goods vehicles and combinations over 9 000 kg, articulated vehicles over that mass, and breakdown vehicles under tow; paragraph (b) sets 100 km/h for a bus, a minibus or midibus under an operating licence, and rapid transport buses. Substituted by GNR.1341 of 2003; paragraph (b) amended by GNR.359 of 12 May 2010.
- National Road Traffic Regulations, 2000 — regulation 293(2)The rear signs those vehicles must display, denoting the 80 km/h and 100 km/h limits.
- National Road Traffic Act 93 of 1996 — section 59The power under which the class limits are made, and the basis on which the lower of an applicable road limit and class limit governs.
Last updated 2026-09-21.