Be Vigilant on our Roads this Holiday Season!
Familiarise yourself with the latest vehicle crime trends!
The high rate of vehicle crime remains a concern in South Africa. With the holidays upon us make sure you are aware of current vehicle crime trends and keep these tips handy.
- Remote Jamming
- Remote jamming is not a new crime, but occurrences have increased dramatically over the last few years. It happens when the signal of your remote control is jammed to prevent it from locking the vehicle. Be sure to:
- Take in your surroundings before you park and take note of any suspicious activity.
- Never leave bills that provide your home address in your car.
- Never leave the remote control that opens your electric gate at home in your car.
- Remove all valuables from sight.
- Listen for the beep or sound of your locks being activated.
- Check your vehicle is locked by testing the doors and boot.
- Off-bridge rock-throwing
Rock throwing incidents in South Africa with the aim of forcing drivers to stop has resulted in damage to vehicles, robberies, hijackings and worse still severe injury or death. Many of the incidents happen under pedestrian bridges.
If possible, stay on “safe roads” and avoid driving where rock throwing has been reported.
Make a note to observe any movements on bridges before you go underneath them.
Drive in daylight hours.
Make sure you educate your family and passengers about rock throwing and ask them to also keep a close look out.
If you are involved in a rock throwing incidence remain calm, pull off to the side of the road only once it is safe to do so and contact the police immediately.
Cloned Number Plates
Vehicle cloning occurs when a criminal copies the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) from a legally owned vehicle and uses it to hide the true identity of a stolen or salvaged vehicle of the same make and model. In order to do this the VIN plate of the stolen or salvaged vehicle is replaced with the VIN plate of a validly registered vehicle from another province or country. Often these crimes form part of a bigger crime syndicate whereby stolen vehicles are resold to innocent customers.