The widely circulated document with proposed speed reduction laws is false.

The South African National Roads Agency SOC Limited (Sanral) distanced itself from the fake “communique” in a statement yesterday, May 14.

Aside from being widely shared on social media, the document had also been picked up by some news organisation.

Vusi Mona, SANRAL’s General Manager for Communication and Marketing said the department does not have a mandate to change road laws and does not enforce speed limits on national roads.

“SANRAL has a distinct mandate to manage the country’s national road network,” said Mona.

“This mandate encompasses the financing, planning, development, improvement, maintenance, and rehabilitation of the national roads, as prescribed by the SANRAL Act of 1998. The SANRAL mandate does not include any enforcement rights, be that related to speed, safety or security.”

According to the circulating document, effective from 1 July, Sanral would implement “Highway Law” with adjusted limits across South Africa’s national highway system.

Some of the speed limit changes that were to be implemented, per the fake document:

• Urban roads reduced from 60km/h to 50km/h.
• Rural roads adjusted from 100km/h to 80km/h.
• Highways and national routes capped at 110km/h, down from 120km/h.
• Heavy vehicles limited to 90km/h on all roads.
• School zones to have a strict 30km/h speed limit during school hours.

“We encourage members of the public to contact Sanral’s hotline – 0800 204 508 – or email sanral@tip-offs.co.za if they pick up suspicious information being circulated. We also encourage members of the media to reach out to our press office on pressoffice@nra.co.za for further clarity,” added Mona.

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