An alarming increase in truck hijackings has raised a red flag for fleet owners to be extra vigilant over the festive season.
The national crime statistics for the July to September 2020 period recently released revealed that there has been a 32% increase in truck hijackings compared to the same period in 2019.
This trend is reiterated by the Statista Research Department indicating that there were 1 202 truck hijackings in South Africa during the past fiscal year from 1 April 2019 to 31 March 2020, representing a 46% increase in truck hijacking incidents since 2012. Based on the recent crime statistics, however, this will spike even further during this fiscal.
While certain crimes are showing a downward trend, the sharp rise in commercial crimes such as truck hijackings and cash-in-transit heists is noticeable on a national level. Although all major urban centres reported increases, Johannesburg’s metropolitan precincts saw a 52% increase in truck hijackings and a 5% increase in car hijackings, which is higher than any other South African city.
Year-to-date, MiX Telematics has seen a 9% increase in vehicle hijacking incidents on its fleet customer base compared to 2019, a figure that is steadily rising given the challenging economic times plus the increase in vehicle deliveries due to peak season activities.
To help mitigate and manage the risks around hijackings, MiX Telematics offers a specialised 24/7 eyes-on-screen service where agents pro-actively co-manage risk indicators in realtime.
“In a recent incident, a truck carrying a load of diesel worth half a million rand was recovered after the Track and React agent assisted the driver that pressed the panic button during the hijacking” says Gert Pretorius, MD of MiX Telematics Africa.