Driving past Munsieville on Robert Broom Drive on her way to work, Annalene Rossouw unexpectedly heard a loud bang and knew one of her vehicle’s tyres had blown.
A pop sound like this is more commonly heard when a tyre bursts at a higher speed, but Annalene had just pulled away from the crossing at Corane Street. At pull-away speed, the bang was quite alarming, and she immediately pulled over to the side of the road. She had barely stopped when a man was at her window, talking and indicating something with his hands. She didn’t open her window and was already calling someone to come out to assist her. While on the call, the man standing at her window disappeared out of sight.
When she later took the tyre to be repaired, the employees at the tyre centre were surprised and noted that they had never seen anything like it. The bolt they pulled from the tyre was about 15cm in length and 8cm in diameter, with what seemed to be dirt on the bottom end and chaffing at the head as though it had been hit with a hammer.
This, however, seems to be a common sight on Zimbabwean roads, as shown in this video:
The modus operandi is usually to hammer bolts, screws or other sharp objects into the road and wait for vehicles to drive over them. Once the drivers pull over and get out of their vehicles to check the damage, they are robbed.
The News went to the site of the unfortunate incident and found multiple bolts and other objects protruding from the tar surface. The first theory was that the objects could have fallen from moving vehicles and were pushed into the tar by the many vehicles driving over them. However, the objects were stuck in the road surface in a perfect vertical angle. Most seemed to have been there for quite some time and were level with the surface.
Motorists are warned to be wary and if they were to find themselves in similar situations, they should rather slow down but keep driving until they reach a safer location. Even there it’s best not to get out of the car, and to call for assistance.
It should be noted, however, that driving longer distances with a deflated tyre can cause further damage the tyre, the rims and the wheelbase.
