Are You a Sitting Duck?

The SAPS has issued a warning regarding a new modus operandi employed by a car hijacking syndicate operating in the Muldersdrift area, close to the Beyers Naude offramp.

It starts off innocently enough. Operating under the guise of being a Good Samaritan and feigning concern, a passing car points to your own vehicle, ostensibly alerting you to the fact that something is amiss, perhaps a flat tyre or a water leak. Shortly after, a second car points out the same area of affliction threatening to fell your automobile. What choice does one have but to trust these kindly strangers, who displayed such chivalry in notifying you of the impending mechanical calamity? You stop your car next to the road to inspect, and that is when a third car pulls up next to you. The driver and several cohorts get out of the vehicle, the weapons in their gloved hands making their intentions excruciatingly clear…

Car hijackings are on the rise, adding to the already palpable miasma of fear that South Africans are faced with on a daily basis. And while it is true that many hijackings occur on our roads, it has been found that most hijackings take place in residential driveways as motorists are about to enter the property. The exact percentage of driveway hijackings varies, but it has been estimated that between 50% and 80% of hijackings are perpetrated in this manner.

Only last year, beloved radio personality David O'Sullivan's wife and young son were left traumatised when armed robbers followed them into their property and liberated Mrs. O'Sullivan of jewelry and other valuables.

Motorists often have to wait outside their property for the entrance gate to open. This creates a “boxed in” effect and criminals use this period of immobility to their advantage.

It is important that the time that your vehicle remains stationary is kept to an absolute minimum. If you know that your gate generally takes a long time to fully open, rather ask someone to be ready to open for you when you arrive home.

Alternatively, have a very fast gate motor installed; preferably a model that can be interfaced with infrared beams and set to close behind you the moment that you are safely inside your property.

Don’t become a sitting duck for opportunistic criminals.