Driving tips whilst in South Africa

Avis is pleased to be of service to all self drive visitors

Avis is pleased to be of service to all self drive visitors to South Africa and have listed a few helpful driving tips to take note of before getting behind the wheel.

• Consult a map or hire a GPS device before you start driving
• Familiarise yourself with your vehicle (indicators, windscreen wipers etc) before you get going
• Always carry a valid driver’s licence when you are driving
• Always drive on the left hand side of the road.
• Always wear your seatbelt
• Never talk on a mobile phone without using a hands-free kit – In South Africa, there are hefty traffic violation fines for this offence
• Drinking and driving is prohibited and strict fines or even imprisonment will apply
• The permissible limit for alcohol consumption is about one glass of wine for the average women and 1.5 glasses for the average or large man
• Road signals will indicate the speed limit, but generally speed limits are 120kph on the open road and 100kph on smaller roads and between 60 km/h in towns and residential areas
• Speeding is strictly enforced and fines are high
• Drivers take it in turns to move off at a four-way stop
• Drivers need to give way to pedestrians when turning left or right at a green robot
• Also keep language nuances in mind – in South Africa we stop at robots (traffic lights), we fill up our cars with petrol (gasoline), we put luggage in our boots (trunks) and our engines are under our cars’ bonnets (hoods).
• For personal safety, keep doors locked and windows up to avoid criminal activity such as “smash and grabs” at traffic lights.
• Never leave valuables and luggage visible to pedestrians. 
• Keep your car locked when you’re not using it and always lock valuables in the boot, only if necessary.
• Do not stop at a tourist site if no-one else is present.
• When going out, especially at night, safety in numbers is always advisable.
• Please note when refuelling, that Avis cars all take High Octane Unleaded Petrol and only our Minibuses (people carriers) and 4x4 Double Cab vehicles use Diesel. 
• In South Africa, fuel prices are regulated and Avis only charges the normal pump price for fuel used.  There is also NO refuelling fee applied by Avis.

Eco Driving Tips

Please consider the environment by reducing fuel consumption and carbon emissions in the following ways:

• Change into the highest appropriate gear as quickly as you can. Revving the engine in low gear consumes large amounts of fuel.
• Maintain a steady speed using the highest gear possible. It’s the most fuel efficient way to drive.
• Driving at 120 kph uses up to 10% more fuel than driving at 100 kph.
• Don’t warm up the engine for too long prior to driving to save fuel and produce less carbon emissions. 
• Minimise use of air-conditioning to reduce fuel consumption. 

Avis wishes you a safe and pleasurable journey in our beautiful country.

Avis opens its new state of the art car rental branch at Cape Town International Airport on 27 March 2010. Located in prime position at the new dedicated car rental area, the new branch office will replace the current three kiosks operated around the airport.