| Roads in South Africa are classified as follows: | | | | roads that are fully surfaced. |
| · National Highway Roads - these are | | | | 56,000km of Provincial roads are completely surfaced |
| classified by a number and having the letter "N" before | | | | to a very high quality finish. |
| them. Examples of these roads are the N1 and N2 | | | | There are 300,000km of gravel roads that are in very |
| from Cape Town, the N3 from Durban to | | | | good condition and are perfect to drive on with just a |
| Johannesburg and the N6 from East London to | | | | two-wheel drive vehicle. |
| Bloemfontein. | | | | There are almost 170,000km of surfaced and |
| · Metropolitan Freeways - these are noted by | | | | non-surfaced roads in urban areas that are in excellent |
| a number with the "M" prefix. | | | | driving condition. |
| · The Provincial Main Roads - identified by the | | | | Over 220,000 km of unclassified roads that are |
| letter "R". Examples are the R21 from Pretoria to | | | | located in rural country areas. The majority of these |
| Johannesburg International Airport and the R27 from | | | | are perfect driving conditions for two wheel drive |
| Cape Town to Upington. | | | | vehicles. |
| · Gravel Roads and secondary roads that are | | | | In fact, there are very few roads in South Africa that |
| surfaced, and these are classified with a number. | | | | are totally exclusive for four wheel drive vehicles. This |
| · Urban streets and roads in the major cities | | | | includes the National Parks that are largely self-drive |
| and towns of South Africa. | | | | parks, and the safari areas that are off the beaten |
| · Generally unclassified roads. These roads are | | | | track. Most of the National roads have a tarred |
| located off the beaten track in rural countryside areas. | | | | surface and are in excellent driving condition. Obviously |
| In total, there are just under 760,000 kilometers of road | | | | the more rural the road, the more possibility that it will |
| network in South Africa. Nearly 10,000 km of fully | | | | have a poor driving surface and have pot holes and |
| surfaced National Highway toads and metropolitan | | | | plenty of bumps! |
| freeways. This total includes over 2,400 km of toll | | | | |