What your vehicle must have to be on the road
A vehicle may only be used on a public road if it has the right equipment in good working order. This chapter lists what the official rules require, from mirrors to number plates, and how far a load may stick out. The test asks for the exact numbers, so learn them.
What must you be able to see from the driver's seat?
You must have a full and clear view of the roadway ahead and to your right and left. This applies whenever the vehicle is in use on a public road. Nothing may block that view.
Which mirrors must a car have?
A motor car must have two rear-view mirrors: one inside, and one outside on the driving side. The same rule applies to a minibus, a bus and a goods vehicle.
No motor vehicle may be used on a public road without a rear-view mirror or mirrors. In clear weather, the mirrors must show you a clear reflection of the traffic behind you.
Sometimes the inside mirror cannot show you the traffic behind. Then an extra outside mirror must be fitted on the side opposite the driving seat. In that case the vehicle does not need an inside mirror.
What are the rules for the windscreen and wipers?
You must be able to see well through the windscreen. On a light motor vehicle, the transparent windscreen must:
- give the driver enough visibility for safe driving
- be made of safety glass
- let at least 70% of visible light pass through it.
A vehicle that has a windscreen must have at least one windscreen wiper. When the wiper is working, it must wipe the outside of the windscreen directly in front of the driver. It must wipe continuously, evenly and adequately (well enough).
Which brakes must a vehicle have, and what about the steering?
Every light and heavy motor vehicle used on a public road must have a service brake, a parking brake and an emergency brake. All of them must be in good working order. The emergency brake and the parking brake may be one and the same brake.
All parts of the steering must be kept in a condition that lets you steer the vehicle safely and efficiently.
What are the rules for the exhaust?
A motor vehicle must have an efficient exhaust silencer, and the gas from the engine must pass through it. You may not use a motor vehicle on a public road if:
- it has no efficient exhaust silencer
- the exhaust pipe or silencer is not in efficient working order
- the gas from the engine does not pass through the silencer
- the exhaust gas or smoke is so dense (thick) that it is a nuisance to other road users or blocks their vision
- oil or other flammable liquid or material can drip or fall onto the exhaust pipe or silencer
- exhaust gas or smoke leaks into the driving cab or the passenger compartment.
Flammable means that it can catch fire.
What must be safe about the fuel tank, wiring, battery and engine?
None of them may be a source of danger. You may not use a motor vehicle on a public road if:
- the fuel tank, carburettor, fuel receptacle (fuel container) or fuel pipes are defective (faulty)
- any of those fuel parts is so exposed that it is a source of danger
- the fuel tank is not fitted with an effective cap.
The electrical wiring and the battery must be properly installed, insulated and maintained, so that they are not a source of danger. The engine must be covered so that it is not a source of danger.
Does a vehicle need a speedometer?
Yes, if the vehicle is designed for, or able to reach, a speed of 60 km/h or more. The speedometer must be in good working order.
How must number plates be fitted?
A motor car needs two number plates: one at the back and one at the front. This applies to every motor vehicle that is not a motor cycle, a motor tricycle or a trailer. A trailer has its number plate at the back.
Every number plate must:
- be a number plate approved by the South African Bureau of Standards (SABS)
- be fixed so that it is not easily detachable (it cannot come off easily)
- be upright, or within 30 degrees of upright
- have every letter and figure clearly legible (easy to read)
- be clearly visible as a whole plate.
Which vehicles must carry an emergency triangle?
Goods vehicles, minibuses and buses must carry at least one emergency warning sign (triangle). They may not be used on a public road without it.
For an ordinary motor car, the official rules do not give one clear answer about carrying a triangle. The rules for placing a triangle are clear, so learn those well.
Where must you put the emergency triangle?
Put it at least 45 metres from the vehicle. A vehicle that must carry a triangle must also display one. The driver displays at least one triangle when the vehicle is stationary (standing still) on the roadway of a public road. The reason for standing still does not matter. The triangle warns other drivers before they reach the vehicle.
Place the triangle like this:
- not less than 45 metres from the vehicle, along the roadway
- in the direction from which traffic will approach on the side of the roadway closest to the vehicle
- about as far from the edge of the roadway as the middle of the vehicle is from that edge
- with the reflective side facing the traffic that will approach.
You do not have to display a triangle when the vehicle is stationary:
- in a place where a road traffic sign allows loading or unloading
- because you are obeying a road traffic sign or a traffic officer
- because of other traffic on the road, while you are in the driving seat.
How high and how wide may a vehicle be?
A motor vehicle may not be more than 4,3 metres high. Only a double-deck bus is outside this rule.
An ordinary vehicle, such as a motor car, may not be more than 2,5 metres wide. Wide buses and the heaviest goods vehicles have their own width rule.
How far may a load stick out?
The limit is different for the front, the back and the sides:
- Front: goods may not project (stick out) more than 300 millimetres beyond the front end of the vehicle.
- Back: goods may not project more than 1,8 metres beyond the rear end of the vehicle.
- Sides: on an ordinary vehicle, goods may not project more than 1,25 metres on either side of the centre-line. The centre-line runs down the middle of the vehicle from front to back. So the goods may be 2,5 metres wide at most.
When must a load have a red flag or reflectors?
A load must be marked when it projects more than 150 millimetres to the side or more than 300 millimetres to the rear. The marking shows other road users where the load ends.
- During the day: a red flag or red flags. Each flag measures 300mm x 300mm.
- At night: retro reflectors.
- At any other time when persons and vehicles are not clearly visible because of unfavourable conditions: retro reflectors.
The retro reflectors must be white to the front and red to the rear.
The fine print
- A tractor does not have to be fitted with a rear-view mirror.
- A motor vehicle may not have a turning radius of more than 13,1 metres.
- When a vehicle pulls trailers, the triangles for every vehicle in the combination may be carried on the drawing vehicle.
- A triangle is also not needed when a vehicle is stationary during events that go with a State or municipal function.
- The height limit is measured with any load on the vehicle.
- The law limits the overall length of certain vehicles. A trailer (not a semi-trailer) with a gross vehicle mass of less than 12 000 kilograms may not be longer than 8 metres. A heavier one, of more than 12 000 kilograms, may not be longer than 12,5 metres.
- A single vehicle that is not a trailer, an articulated motor vehicle or a bus-train may not be longer than 12,5 metres. A combination of motor vehicles may not be longer than 22 metres.
- Side mirrors and direction indicators are not counted when you measure how far goods project to the side.
- No bracket may project more than 150 millimetres beyond the widest part of the vehicle. Side rear-view mirrors and direction indicators are not counted here either.
- Goods vehicles with a gross vehicle mass of 10000 kilograms or less may have yellow reflective strips on the sides and rear. The strips are not compulsory.
Numbers to remember
- 70%: the least visible light a windscreen must let through
- 60 km/h: a vehicle that can reach this speed or more must have a working speedometer
- 30 degrees: the most a number plate may lean from upright
- 45 metres: the least distance between a stationary vehicle and its emergency triangle
- 4,3 metres: the greatest overall height of a motor vehicle that is not a double-deck bus
- 2,5 metres: the greatest overall width of an ordinary vehicle, and of the goods it carries
- 1,25 metres: the most that goods may project on either side of the centre-line of an ordinary vehicle
- 300 millimetres: the most that goods may project beyond the front end of a vehicle
- 1,8 metres: the most that goods may project beyond the rear end of a vehicle
- 150 millimetres: a load that projects more than this to the side must be marked
- 300 millimetres: a load that projects more than this to the rear must be marked
- 300mm x 300mm: the size of the red flag on a projecting load
Mistakes learners make
- Thinking a car needs only the inside mirror. A motor car needs an inside mirror and an outside mirror on the driving side.
- Putting the triangle right behind the vehicle. It must be at least 45 metres away, with the reflective side facing the traffic that will approach.
- Swapping the load numbers. Goods may project 300 millimetres at the front and 1,8 metres at the back.
- Thinking a flag is only needed at 1,8 metres. A load must be marked as soon as it projects more than 300 millimetres to the rear.
- Mixing up the reflector colours. Retro reflectors on a projecting load are white to the front and red to the rear.
Test yourself
Question 1
Your motor vehicle is stationary on the roadway of a public road and you display an emergency warning sign. At what minimum distance from the vehicle must the sign be placed?
Show answer
Answer: C: 45 metres
The triangle must be placed at least 45 metres from the stationary vehicle, along the roadway.
Question 2
By which body must the number plate affixed to a vehicle be approved?
Show answer
Answer: C: The South African Bureau of Standards (SABS)
A number plate on a vehicle must be approved by the South African Bureau of Standards (SABS).
Question 3
Which ONE of the following is NOT a requirement for the manner in which a number plate is affixed to a vehicle?
Show answer
Answer: A: It must be affixed behind the glass of a window
A number plate must be fixed so that it cannot come off easily; behind a window is not required.
Question 4
A number plate must be affixed in an upright position or within how many degrees of an upright position?
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Answer: B: 30 degrees
A number plate must be upright or within 30 degrees of upright.
Question 5
A tow bar fitted to your motor vehicle hides one figure on the rear number plate. What does the law require of the letters and figures on a number plate?
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Answer: C: Each letter and figure must be clearly legible
Every letter and every number on your number plate must be easy to read.
Question 6
Which ONE of the following is NOT a requirement for the manner in which a number plate is affixed to a motor vehicle?
Show answer
Answer: B: The number plate must be affixed inside the rear window
No rule says the plate goes inside the back window; the rule is that the whole plate must be easy to see.
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