With darkness falling earlier and sunrise happening later during winter months, motorists must be extra vigilant, with spiking gangs making full use of the twilight hours.

Six new spiking incidents have been reported this week, with five attempts confirmed on Wednesday, and one last night.

Wednesday’s five spiking incidents occurred on seperate routes close to Middelburg.

Three spiking attempts happened shortly after 18:00 on the N11, approximately 14km from Pullenshope towards Middelburg.

Another two vehicles were also damaged in spiking incidents Wednesday night approximately 3km from Woestalleen heading to Middelburg.

A voice note confirming the incidents has been shared on various local WhatsApp emergency groups including spiking groups, Traffic Alert and CPF groups.

Last night’s spiking took place on the N12 around 20:45 at the Kendall offramp near Balmoral.

A distress call was received from a woman who shared her location.

Emergency responders rushed to assist the woman, who continued driving to safety.

The victim was swiftly located and responders helped her change her damaged tire.

She was then safely escorted to safety.

A search was conducted on the stretch of road in an attempt to find the spikes and robbers.

The search, however, yielded nothing.

Motorists are urged to stick to daylight travel if possible.