Yes, I was told that it was legal to run red lights (this was by the car rental company, apparently SA has several quaint laws about robots -- as they call traffic lights -- which are different from most countries). It sounds like things have improved considerably. FWIW I learned about the need to run red lights in Manhattan, so it can happen in any city; however it was very pervasive in JNB not so long ago. And as far as I know, the only country where this is legally sanctioned traffic law.