Countries with the strictest road rules – Where South Africa ranks

South Africa ranked dead last out of 17 countries in a recent study by Compare The Market Australia (CMA) in terms of the strictness of its road laws.

The investigation looked at several types of rules that govern vehicles and drivers in the respective countries, including:

• Seatbelt requirements
• Legal blood-alcohol limit
• Hands-free mobile phone usage
• Highway, residential, and rural speed limits

Norway registered first with an index score of 7.09/10, while South Africa came in last place with a score of 3.13/10.

The table below, compiled by CMA, ranks 17 countries from all corners of the globe in terms of the strictness of their road laws:

“South Africa was considered the least strict country on the index, largely based on having higher speed limits for highways, residential areas, and rural roads, despite having lower Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) limits than the US,” said CMA.

“Also, while seatbelts are mandatory for drivers and passengers, there were more exemptions (such as making regular stops for deliveries or driving a minivan that weighed less than 2.5 tonnes).”

At the other end of the spectrum, Norway was ranked as the strictest country on CMA’s list, due to its relatively low 0.02BAC, lower speed limits on urban and rural roads, and mandatory seatbelt requirements.

Additionally, studded tyres and snow chains are required during the Scandinavian country’s winter months, and all cars must always have their headlights turned on regardless of the time of day.

Road rules and road deaths

Possibly a consequence of South Africa’s lax road laws and enforcement thereof, another study by CMA performed earlier in 2023 determined that the country also has the highest number of fatal accidents per year when compared to 19 other nations.

South African males, on average, cause 34.9 fatal accidents per 100,000 people on an annual basis, whereas females are responsible for a lower 9.9 out of 100,000.

For men, the next closest country was Brazil with 26.9 out of 100,000; and for women, it was the USA with 7.5 out of 100,000.

The UK was first for both genders, men coming in at 4.8 out of 100,000 and women at 1.6 out of 100,000 – which was attributed to “a national speed limit of 70 miles per hour which goes down to 30 in built-up areas,” said CMA.

Other interesting road rules from across the world

During its research, CMA found a few unique traffic laws from several countries in the world that are not shared by many others.

On the Autobahn in Germany, there is no speed limit for the majority of the highway, but drivers are encouraged not to go over 130km/h.

Similarly, in Australia, there are select roads in the Northern Territory with a speed limit of 130km/h, which is higher than anywhere else in the country, due to the sparse population and long, empty roads in these regions.

In Canada, you don’t need to wear a seatbelt when reversing, and Spain only banned holding a mobile phone in the hand while driving in 2022.