With nearly 140 000 vehicle thefts and hijackings on South African roads each year, driving without car insurance is a huge risk. Each year, horrifying statistics reveal that more and more hijackings result in the death or injury of the driver – either outside their house or at a traffic robot. SA Crime recently claimed that 1 in 5 people get shot in a hijacking situation in South Africa.
The reason for so many deaths is simple: the hijackers are threatened by the advent of efficient vehicle tracking services. One of the most common mistakes the drivers make is keeping their cell phone visible while stopping at traffic lights or intersections – criminals take advantage of this.
Crime Out Loud have identified the following areas as high risk locations for vehicle theft or hijacking hotspots: Johannesburg, Pretoria, Centurion, Soweto, Witbank, Ballito/Salt Rock, Durban, Cape Town and East London.
According to police stats on South African crime, current hijacking hot spots in KwaZulu Natal include Pinetown, Bayview and Chatsworth as well as a recent spike in car-jacking happening in the Durban CBD. Gauteng hotspots include most areas around Johannesburg Central as well as Booysens, Bramley, Sandringham and Sandton. Germiston and Benoni are also considered high risk areas.
Western Cape car-jackings are less frequent than those in Gauteng and KwaZulu Natal, but they still happen. Areas considered to hold the most risk for hijacking include Mitchells Plain, Khayelitsha, Nyanga and Gugulethu. The Cape has less hijacking incidents, but crime is still high, with cell phone theft and mugging occurring everywhere from the townships to the city centre…
South Africa Today – South Africa News
