The South African Road Agency has warned motorists to guard against robberies taking place at national toll gates.
SANRAL says it has beefed up security measures at toll gates in the country following a hijacking that took place last week.
In a video clip that circulated on social media platforms, SANRAL says there’s a need for extra security and condemned the incident.
The agency also confirmed it will work with the South African Police Service to combat similar incidents taking place.
“While we can reduce the motivation to commit a crime by increasing our security measures at toll plazas, we cannot police someone’s intention to commit a crime. We, therefore, appeal to road users to always be vigilant and aware of threats to their security in any location,” said Sanral spokesperson, Vusi Mona.
“Sanral’s camera network across the country has assisted police in their investigations and securing convictions of criminals on a number of occasions, and the agency will continue to work with law enforcement agencies to create safer spaces for all road users.”
The hijacking incident was a variant of the ‘boxing in’ method, where criminals cut off paths of escape for their victims.
Similar methods are used when hijackings take place on a victim’s driveway, and also more recently at drive-thrus at fast food restaurants.
SANRAL said in a media statement that the country has seen a massive jump in hijacking activity this year, with SAPS data showing 17,412 cases between January and September 2022 alone.
The police also highlighted a disturbing new trend in hijacking cases, with a growing number of incidents now also involving kidnappings as part of the crime.
According to the SAPS, in the sample of 3,648 kidnapping cases it analysed, hijacking-related incidents accounted for the biggest number of cases where these took place.
