Petrol stations are full service service stations — the attendant will fill you up (just tell them what you want, and how much), they often also offer for free to clean your windscreen (front and rear), clean your headlights, check tire pressure and oil levels. That being said, it is customary to tip at petrol stations, and the rule of thumb is to tip a base amount of R5 and then add a few Rand for each additional service required.
If you get a ticket, it is likely that there won’t be follow up from the government about paying the ticket (there are certain municipalities that will, others that won’t as they don’t — communication interdepartmentally is limited, so often tickets have no follow up)— so I typically wait for a second ticket or “final notice” before I’ll pay but this is your choice
To easily pay for any traffic fine - pay here
To request a reduction in the fine, you can email along with a copy of the ticket : traffic.representation@capetown.gov.za
DRIVING IN SOUTH AFRICA
Read over these Rules of the Road for traffic laws and regulations specific to this context
Parking — If you do park on the street, many roads in major cities will have coin meters. Most will have a timer system, but some will be pay and display. When parking your car on the street in some areas, you may encounter car guards, who offer to watch your car. Some will be official and others will be opportunists, so use your common sense over whether you should pay them.
Traffic — Cape Town does have traffic— “Rush Hour” is typically from 2:30-6 pm — there are also certain parts of the city where you’ll get familiar that there is consistent traffic based on road construction, so plan ahead— use Google Maps to find an ETA. You can even do this at any point ahead of time to estimate departure time needed on the time of day
Railroad Crossings — Keep in mind when you drive to pay attention when you drive over railroad tracks, the booms are not always down or working when a train is coming, which happens often in Muiz, and can get very dangerous when driving a manual car if you get stuck on the tracks
