As the silly season approaches, criminals are on the lookout for opportunities to make some cash.
The National Hijack Prevention Academy has compiled a list of the most popular spots in Johannesburg when it comes to hijacking. Crime statistics released by the South African Police Service earlier in the year showed that cases of hijacking increased significantly.
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According to the police, there were over 14 600 reported car hijackings between 2015 and 2016, up 14.3 percent from 12 770.
Statistically, this shows that 40 cars are hijacked every day in South Africa (35 in 2015), or roughly one car every 36 minutes.
As has always been the case, car and truck hijacking is most common in South Africa’s most populated province, Gauteng, followed by other built up provinces such as KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape.
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Gauteng accounts for over half (50.5 per cent) of all reported car hijackings – with 7 376 cases, and 58 per cent of all reported truck hijackings, with 695 cases.
Here are some of the hot spots:
- The corner of Kelvin Street and CR Swart
- The corner of Pretoria Road and CR Swart
- The corner of Elgin and Pretoria roads
- Linksfield Road off-ramp off the N3
- Booysens Road off-ramp off the M1
- The Nelson Mandela Bridge, be alert
- Wolmarans Street between Claim and Nugget streets
- The corner of Harrow and Saratoga roads
- The corner of Harrow and Abel
- The Houghton Drive off-ramp off the M1
- The corner of Jan Smuts Avenue and St Andrews
- The corner of 17th and Krause streets in Pageview
- The Heidelberg Road off-ramp off the N17
- Traffic lights on Kyalami Drive
- The Beyers Naudé off-ramp off the N1 highway
- Rivonia off-ramp off the N1 highway in Sunninghill
- Midrand road near Clayville
- The intersection of Grayston and Rivonia and the intersection of Grayston and 11th Street
- 11th Avenue and Empire Road off-ramps
- The Jan Smuts Avenue / William Nicol Drive split in Hyde Park
- Intersections on Witkoppen Road
- Bramley Precinct, areas such as Wynberg, Bramley, Marlboro and Kew
- Yeoville Precinct, areas such as Yeoville, Bellevue and Bellevue East
- The Norwood Precinct, areas such as Orange Grove and Highlands
- The Sandringham Precinct, areas such as Glenhazel, Lombardy East and Sandringham
- The Parkview precinct, areas between the 10th and 11th avenue and 4th and 7th avenues in Parkhurst
- The Hillbrow precinct, areas such as upper Houghton and Killarney
- The Rosebank precinct, areas such as Saxonwold and Parkwood
- The intersection between Christiaan de Wet and Wilgerood road in Roodepoort
- Louis Botha Avenue, the M11. Be aware at the traffic lights, especially between Hillbrow and Alexandra
- Riviera off-ramp on the M1
- 11th Avenue in Fairland, near Fairland Extension 6
- The corner of Pretoria Main Road and 1st Avenue in Alexandra
- New Road off-ramp coming off the N1, be aware at the robots
- William Nicol off-ramp on the N1 highway.
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*Fist published in 2016
