Driving in South Africa

Driving in SA is a pleasure
never change lanes without indicating
roads are amazing
on highway speed is normally 120max but people drive at more than that...there are a lot of camera and a huge fine..so better be careful
use the car horn when u wana abuse the other driver

have drivin from joburg to durban, kruger, cape, knysna..all was amazing
enough of joints on the way to eat and refill d car.

still be careful aas u get some fishy drivers here and there

cheers

Most obviously, they drive on the left side of the road:-)
Traffic in Johannesburg is very heavy especially during peak hours. Be prepared to take an hour or more to get to work unless you live very close. The notorious minibus drivers are fairly aggressive, passing you in the dirt on the right just to get ahead in heavy traffic. It's best to just go ahead and yield to them.
The roads in Gauteng are very good in general. It's different once you get more into the countryside, you can come across roads with lots of potholes. What may look like a highway on the map can turn out to be a road going through towns and red lights.
You best stick to the speed limit as there are a lot of mobile radar traps which will get your picture taken and a ticket sent in the mail.
Another thing to be aware of are frequent stops by police, often soliciting bribes. Don't pay them. Your foreign drivers license is perfectly valid as long as it's not expired and has a picture on it. I ended up printing out a section of the SA Road Traffic Act and carrying it in my glove compartment, to be able to show to the cops when they stopped me and tried to tell me I wasn't compliant with the laws.
You might much more often come across non-working traffic lights than you are used to in your home country. In general, people deal very well with this by treating them like a fourway stop, alternating from each side.
Overall, driving in South Africa is not that different from driving in any Western country. It might take some getting used to but is definitely worth it because it's hard to get around without a car.
Also see http://www.joburgexpat.com/2011/06/is-t … south.html and http://www.joburgexpat.com/2011/03/dos- … ffic.html.