Hijacking expert: Three ways to prevent being hijacked
Breakfast with Martin Bester spoke to Richard Brussow, founder of the National Hijacking Prevention Academy, on preventing hijackings and spiking.
South Africa has seen an increase in violent crimes regarding hijackings and spiking over the past few years.
READ: Latest hijacking trend targets SA petrol stations
As these incidents continue to rise and pose a threat to all South Africans, Martin Bester spoke to hijacking specialist Richard Brussow about what to do when you are faced with a hijacking or spiking.
According to Brussow, 71% of all hijackings happen in a person's driveway, and only 2% of these incidents happen in the morning.
Hijackers might not always know what or who comes out of the house in the morning, making it much easier to follow victims home after keeping an eye on them for a while.
Brussow warned drivers to be vigilant when approaching your house and your driveway:
Firstly, potential hijackers won’t always drive directly behind you but often about four properties away.
READ: This is the cause of 80% of SA road accidents
They do this because they know you won’t be able to see who is in the car.
They then wait for a signal like your brakes or gate opening to accelerate and attack.
"Beware of overtaking," said Brussow.
If the end of the road is less than 100 meters away, robbers will often overtake you, then make a U-turn and come back to hijack you.
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How to prevent a potential hijacking
Stop in the road, far away from your gate, wait for the gate to open, and only then drive into your driveway.
When you stop at a robot or street, stop further away from the car in front of you to ensure a clear escape route.
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The issue with spiking is that victims get scared and usually pull their steering wheel, which could worsen the situation.
Although spiking is an extremely difficult situation, Brussow said that people should try to remain calm and follow these tips:
Spiking most commonly occurs from about 19:00 up to 04:00, even on busy roads.
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