The need for South Africa to adopt standard signage and symbols for low and zero emission vehicles (lzevs)

Abstract

South Africa currently has the 15th highest carbon dioxide emissions in the world (Worldometer, 2022). In 2018, the country introduced the Green Transport Strategy, a long-term plan that aims at decarbonising the transport sector. This is in support of the national climate change strategy amongst others. One of the objectives of the green transport strategy is to engage the low carbon transition of the sector, to assist with the aligning and developing of policies which promote energy efficiency and emission control measures in all transport modes (NDoT 2018). With current strides in policymaking and developments in introducing more electric vehicles in the market, it therefore remains imperative to ensure that road users are safe. Currently there are no national standardised signs, symbols, or pavement markings in South Africa to identify Low and Zero Emission Vehicles (LZEVs) charging infrastructure or charging locations. Some stakeholders and agencies have commenced installing some signage without a clear national standard and this can potentially cause frustration amongst drivers and consequently pose a risk for road users. This research will study current rollout of LZEV signage in South Africa, the need to standardise this rollout and learning from other countries on what the trends are.