Confirmation on use of UK license in South Africa

Question

I'm a british citizen in South Africa. I have read on the foreign and commonwealth office website that a British driving licence may be used in South Africa for up to 12months. However my company's insurance company wants written confimation of this. Is there any offical statment from the depatment of transport that can confirm this?

Answer

The allowance is written into regulation 110 of the SA National Road Traffic Act. The only free, legible version I could find was on www.acts.co.za.

In essence, the subject at hand is about reciprocity: if the country which is party to the Convention that issued you with a driving licence would allow the licence holder to drive the specific vehicle, it will also be allowed in any other country which is party to the Convention. Thus, the only requirement for holders of foreign driving licences would be that such foreign driving licence must be maintained as valid.

The one-year limitation is about converting a foreign driving licence to a SA driving licence. A foreign driving licence may only be converted in the one-year period after the holder obtained permanent residence in South Africa.