The two definitions
Both are defined in section 1 of the National Road Traffic Act. Almost every wrong answer on this topic comes from treating them as one idea.
| Term | What the Act says it means |
|---|---|
| Stop | "The bringing to a standstill of a vehicle by the driver thereof." |
| Park | "To keep a vehicle, whether occupied or not, stationary for a period of time longer than is reasonably necessary for the actual loading or unloading of persons or goods, but does not include any such keeping of a vehicle by reason of a cause beyond the control of the person in charge of such vehicle." |
Read them together and the difference is time and purpose, not whether anyone is in the car. A vehicle standing still with the driver in it is parked if it has been there longer than the loading or unloading actually needed.
Every stopping happens; only some of it is parking
Stopping is the physical act. You brought the vehicle to a standstill, and that is all the definition requires. Whether the engine is running, whether you stayed in the seat, whether it was for three seconds — none of it matters to the definition.
Parking adds two things on top. It has to last longer than the actual loading or unloading of people or goods reasonably needed, and it has to be by choice: a breakdown, or anything else beyond the control of the person in charge of the vehicle, is expressly carved out of the definition.
So dropping a passenger at the kerb is stopping, not parking. Waiting at the kerb for twenty minutes with the engine running, with somebody in the car, is parking — the definition says "whether occupied or not" precisely to close that argument.
The asymmetry that decides most questions
Regulation 304 lists the places you may not stop. Regulation 305 lists the places you may not park. They are different lists, and the relationship between them runs one way only.
Regulation 305(1)(b) says you may not park "in any place referred to in regulation 304". So the no-stopping list is folded whole into the no-parking list: anywhere you may not stop, you also may not park.
Nothing in regulation 304 does the reverse. There is no clause saying you may not stop wherever you may not park. That is why the two lists must be learned separately, and why a question that swaps one for the other is a trap rather than a slip.
Put it as a single sentence and it stays right: no-stopping is the stricter restriction, and it swallows no-parking.
Where you may not stop
Regulation 304. Nine places, subject to four escapes at the top of the regulation: to avoid an accident, in compliance with a road traffic sign, on the direction of a traffic officer, or for any cause beyond the driver's control.
| Place | The limit |
|---|---|
| Alongside or opposite an excavation or obstruction | Where other traffic would be obstructed or endangered by your stopping |
| A tunnel, subway or bridge | In it, or within six metres of it |
| Where the roadway has been narrowed | On that part, or within six metres of where the narrowing begins or ends |
| Anywhere a road traffic sign forbids it | In contravention of the sign |
| Facing oncoming traffic | On the right-hand side of the roadway |
| Alongside or opposite another vehicle | Where the roadway is less than nine metres wide — double parking, in effect |
| A level crossing | Within the railway reserve |
| A demarcated pedestrian crossing | Within nine metres of it, on your approaching side |
| Anywhere else that would be dangerous | Any place where stopping would, or would be likely to, constitute a danger or an obstruction to other traffic |
The last row is a catch-all and it is enforceable on its own. A place does not have to appear on the first eight rows to be a place you may not stop.
Where you may not park
Regulation 305. Everything in the table above, plus all of this. The last five rows apply inside an urban area only.
| Place | The limit |
|---|---|
| Anywhere you may not stop | Regulation 305(1)(b) imports the whole of regulation 304 |
| Anywhere a road traffic sign forbids it | In contravention of the sign |
| A fire hydrant | On the same side of the road, within one and a half metres either side of it, where the hydrant is clearly visible or signposted |
| In front of a road traffic sign | Any place where the vehicle would obscure the sign |
| The pavement | In such a manner as to encroach upon the sidewalk |
| A driveway | In such a manner as to obstruct any private or public vehicular entrance |
| A traffic island, pedestrian mall or pedestrian lane | Not at all |
| A bay reserved for people with disabilities | Unless you are a disabled person, or driving a vehicle conveying disabled persons and issued with the sticker |
| Outside an urban area | Not on the roadway at all (shoulders excluded), and no part of the vehicle within one metre of the roadway edge, unless it is a demarcated parking place |
| Urban area: a demarcated pedestrian crossing | Within nine metres on your approaching side, unless signs permit it |
| Urban area: an intersection | Within five metres of it, unless a sign permits it |
| Urban area: a traffic signal | Upon or over its actuating mechanism |
| Urban area: too far off the kerb | With the outside of a left-hand wheel more than 450 mm into the roadway — right-hand wheel on a one-way road parked on that side — unless a sign permits it |
| Urban area: a narrow road | A roadway less than five and a half metres wide, unless it is one-way and signs permit parking |
A vehicle parked in contravention of any of this may be removed and impounded by a traffic officer, and the owner bears the cost unless the vehicle was parked there in the course of being stolen.
The two signs say two different things
This is where the distinction stops being theory. A no-parking sign and a no-stopping sign are separate signs with separate consequences.
R216, parking prohibited, forbids parking there at any time of day or night. You may still bring the vehicle to a standstill to let somebody out, because that is stopping and the sign does not reach it.
R217, stopping prohibited, forbids bringing the vehicle to a standstill at all — the learner-driver manual gives the practical exceptions as obeying a traffic light or a traffic officer, or avoiding a collision. And because no-parking follows no-stopping, a no-stopping sign also means no parking. It never runs the other way.
Both have temporary versions, TR216 and TR217, used at roadworks and events, and both carry the same force. Regulation 288 governs how they are put up: a sign restricting parking or stopping is displayed at each end of the section it applies to, no junction may be included in that section, and a section shorter than 75 metres between the nearest intersecting roads may be signed with a single sign.
Who is exempt, and who is not
Regulation 306 lifts both regulations for a narrow group, and the list is worth knowing because it is narrower than people assume. A fire-fighting vehicle, fire-fighting response vehicle, emergency medical response vehicle, rescue vehicle or ambulance being driven in the execution of its duties; a traffic officer's vehicle in the execution of duties; a vehicle in civil protection work; and a vehicle used in the construction or maintenance of a public road or in rendering an essential public service.
Those drivers may stop or park anywhere it is necessary to — provided the vehicle is left in a way that does not constitute an unnecessary danger or confusion to other road users, and provided the prescribed identification lamps are displayed while it is standing there.
Nobody else is on that list. A delivery driver is not, a taxi is not, and "I was only a minute" is not a provision.
There is a separate route for a person whose mobility is severely impaired: regulations 305A to 305D, inserted in 2014, allow an application to the MEC of the province for exemption from parking provisions, on form AEP, with an exemption certificate that has to be displayed on the vehicle.
The mistake
Assuming a no-parking sign lets you do less than it does, or a no-stopping sign lets you do more. Under a no-parking sign you may still stop to set down or pick up. Under a no-stopping sign you may do neither, because parking is imported into it and stopping is prohibited outright.
The other one is thinking that sitting in the car makes it "not parked". The definition says "whether occupied or not". What makes it parking is the time — longer than the loading or unloading actually needed.
This is a rules-section topic
Stopping and parking questions sit in the rules of the road section, which is scored independently of signs and vehicle controls. The free readiness test shows the three sections separately and needs no account.
Take the free readiness testCommon questions
What is the difference between stopping and parking in South Africa?
Stopping is bringing the vehicle to a standstill. Parking is keeping it stationary for longer than is reasonably necessary to actually load or unload people or goods, whether or not anyone is in it — and it excludes standing still for a cause beyond the driver's control. Both are defined in section 1 of the National Road Traffic Act.
Can I stop where a no-parking sign is displayed?
Yes. Sign R216 prohibits parking, and setting a passenger down is stopping, not parking. Watch the other prohibitions though — regulation 304 may still forbid stopping at that exact spot for a different reason, such as being within nine metres of a pedestrian crossing.
Can I park where a no-stopping sign is displayed?
No. Regulation 305(1)(b) makes every place you may not stop a place you may not park, so a no-stopping sign forbids both. The relationship only runs that way — a no-parking sign does not forbid stopping.
How close to an intersection may I park?
Inside an urban area, no closer than five metres from any intersection, unless a road traffic sign permits it. That is regulation 305(4)(b), and it is a parking rule rather than a stopping rule.
How far from a pedestrian crossing must I stop or park?
Nine metres, on the side you approach from, for both. Regulation 304(h) prohibits stopping within nine metres of a demarcated pedestrian crossing on your approaching side, and regulation 305(4)(a) repeats it for parking inside an urban area unless signs permit.
Is it illegal to park on the pavement?
Yes. Regulation 305(1)(e) prohibits parking in such a manner as to encroach upon the sidewalk. The one carve-out in the regulation is for a non-motor vehicle being used in street vending, within the prescribed size limits.
My car broke down. Am I parked illegally?
Not by the definition. "Park" expressly excludes keeping a vehicle stationary by reason of a cause beyond the control of the person in charge of it, and regulation 304 excepts stopping for any cause beyond the driver's control. Display your emergency warning sign as regulation 214 requires.
Sources
- National Road Traffic Act 93 of 1996 — section 1, definition of "park""'park' means to keep a vehicle, whether occupied or not, stationary for a period of time longer than is reasonably necessary for the actual loading or unloading of persons or goods, but does not include any such keeping of a vehicle by reason of a cause beyond the control of the person in charge of such vehicle".
- National Road Traffic Act 93 of 1996 — section 1, definition of "stop""'stop' means the bringing to a standstill of a vehicle by the driver thereof".
- National Road Traffic Regulations, 2000 — regulation 304"Stopping of vehicles". "Except in order to avoid an accident, or in compliance with a road traffic sign or with a direction given by a traffic officer, or for any cause beyond the control of the driver, no person shall stop a vehicle on the roadway of a public road" — (a) alongside or opposite an excavation or obstruction if other traffic would be obstructed or endangered; (b) within or within six metres of any tunnel, subway or bridge; (c) on or within six metres of a constriction of the roadway; (d) in contravention of a road traffic sign; (e) on the right-hand side facing oncoming traffic; (f) alongside or opposite another vehicle where the roadway is less than nine metres wide; (g) within the railway reserve at a level crossing; (h) within nine metres of the approaching side of a demarcated pedestrian crossing; (i) in any other place where stopping would or would be likely to constitute a danger or an obstruction to other traffic.
- National Road Traffic Regulations, 2000 — regulation 305"Parking of vehicles". (1) No parking (a) in contravention of a road traffic sign; (b) "in any place referred to in regulation 304"; (c) on the same side as a fire hydrant within one and a half metres either side of it; (d) where the vehicle would obscure a road traffic sign; (e) so as to encroach upon the sidewalk; (f) so as to obstruct any private or public vehicular entrance. (3) Outside an urban area, not on the roadway (excluding shoulders) or within one metre of its edge except in a demarcated parking place. (4) Inside an urban area, not within nine metres of the approaching side of a demarcated pedestrian crossing, within five metres of an intersection, over a traffic signal's actuating mechanism, with the outside of a left-hand wheel more than 450 mm into the roadway (right-hand wheel on a one-way road), or on a roadway less than five and a half metres wide — each unless permitted by an appropriate sign. (5) Not on a traffic island or in a pedestrian mall or pedestrian lane. (6) Removal and impoundment, at the owner's cost. (7) Bays reserved for disabled persons.
- National Road Traffic Regulations, 2000 — regulation 306"Certain vehicles may be stopped and parked at any place where necessary". Notwithstanding regulations 304 and 305, fire-fighting, fire-fighting response, emergency medical response, rescue and ambulance vehicles driven in the execution of their duties, traffic officers' vehicles, civil protection vehicles and vehicles used in road construction or maintenance or the rendering of an essential public service may stop or park where necessary, provided they do not constitute an unnecessary danger or confusion to other road users, and display the identification lamps prescribed in regulation 176.
- National Road Traffic Regulations, 2000 — regulation 288"Signs regulating parking, stopping and hawkers". A regulatory sign relating to parking, and one prohibiting or restricting stopping, shall be displayed at each end and on that side of the section to which it applies; no junction may be included in such a section; and a section not exceeding 75 metres between the nearest intersecting public roads may be signed with only one appropriate sign.
- National Road Traffic Regulations, 2000 — regulations 305A to 305DInserted by regulation 71 of GNR.846 of 31 October 2014. A person whose mobility is severely impaired by a chronic neurological or physiological condition, or temporarily but severely impaired, may apply to the MEC of the province to be exempt from provisions relating to parking; application on form AEP, exemption certificate on form ECP, displayed on the vehicle; valid indefinitely where the impairment is permanent, otherwise for a period not exceeding 12 months.
- National Road Traffic Regulations, 2000 — regulation 214"Emergency warning signs (triangles)". Where a motor vehicle is for any reason stationary on the roadway or the shoulder of a public road, the driver shall display at least one emergency warning sign, placed no less than 45 metres from the vehicle along the roadway in the direction from which traffic will approach, with the reflective side facing that traffic.
- SA Learner Driver Manual — Road Traffic Signs (Department of Transport, version 1.00, June 2012) — R216 and R217Parking prohibited (R216, TR216): "To prohibit drivers from parking during any time of the day or night. Do not park where these signs are displayed." Stopping prohibited (R217, TR217): "Do not stop unless to obey a traffic light or a traffic officer or to avoid a collision."
Last updated 2026-09-21.