On the day a man managed to drive 30km to a filling station in Pretoria after an attempted hijacking, three other incidents occurred on the same road – the N4.

“It can be confirmed that during the early hours of October 1, at least four spiking incidents occurred in the vicinity of Donkerhoek and Rayton,” said Boschkop CPF chairperson Ross Welsh.

The road is one of several that security role players in the area warn about as potential hotspot areas in Gauteng.

According to the Bronkhorstspruit AfriForum Neighbourhood Watch, the other roads where motorists are warned to be extremely cautious and vigilant, are the R104 and R513.

Welsh stated that it is extremely difficult to track down the perpetrators because they use different methods and because of the huge area in which they operate.

“We as the CPF sharpen up our patrols in a certain area, but then the perpetrators move to another area, it is therefore very difficult to clamp down on the spikers and robbers.”

Welsh added that motorists should refrain from driving during the night.

“Most of the successful spiking and robbing incidents happen between 01:00 and 03:00. Make use of a live location on your phone if possible and within safety boundaries, motorist should try to drive in the middle of the road and set the vehicle’s lights on bright when possible. It is important not to stop when you hit something on the road. Drive to the nearest safe place,” Welsh added.

In another incident, rocks were apparently placed on the N4 near the Diamond Hill Tollgate Plaza.

This incident happened at around 02:30 on September 27. According to another trusted source, a vehicle hit the rocks and came to a standstill.

The driver of the vehicle, a woman, was then pulled into the field by four armed suspects and robbed of all her belongings as well as everything of value inside her vehicle.

“It is also important to report these cases to the police,” Welsh concluded.