Are you looking for more information on truck hijackings? Well, we’ve compiled a list of common questions about this unfortunate situation. Read along.
To prevent truck hijackings, you need to educate your drivers on things like:
The more your drivers know about how hijackings work, the more likely they are to pick up the signs and avoid falling victim.
Safety in a hijacking is never guaranteed, but knowing what to do might save your life. If you’re ever involved in a hijacking, do what they say and never retaliate because it’ll only aggravate the thieves. Make sure you get a panic button, so you can silently call for help if possible.
Truck theft is a big issue in South Africa because of the goods the trucks carry and the resale value of the truck parts. The N3 between Durban and Johannesburg is a popular truck hijacking hotspot that syndicates often target. They use inside information, cloned vehicles, and sometimes impersonate the police to execute the crime.
Most hijackings happen around 16:00, on Thursday or Friday afternoons. This is because it’s towards the end of the day and the end of the week. By then, most people are tired and therefore neglect practising basic safety precautions like checking their surroundings. Criminals take advantage of that.
The technologies that can help you with truck hijackings are:
The tracking unit and panic button ensure that you get help as soon as possible in the event of a hijacking, and cameras ensure that the thieves are identified.
Cartrack helps with truck hijacking by offering GPS tracking devices that make it easier to recover the vehicles. We also have cameras that can help with finding the perpetrators and getting visual evidence of what really happened. Another handy feature that we offer is a panic button that’s placed in a discreet place. Drivers can press it to get immediate help.
In the unfortunate event of a hijacking, your drivers should try to be calm and not retaliate. They should raise both hands to show that they’re empty so the hijackers can see that they don’t pose any threat. If safe to do so, your drivers should take note of small details, as they’ll be useful for police statements.
Spotting a potential hijacking requires always being highly aware of your surroundings, and to know the different hijacking tactics to avoid falling victim. Common hijacking methods include police impersonations, drive-thrus, and placing objects on the road. Find out how these methods work on our blog “7 Ways to Prevent Your Car From Being Stolen”.
Yes, a hijacker can unfortunately find your tracking device, but with Cartrack, that shouldn’t be an issue, as our devices are discreetly placed by skilled technicians. You can also add a backup unit to your package as an extra layer of protection, so we can find your vehicle despite criminal attempts to disarm the main one.
The feature that your drivers must have access to for an effective recovery is a panic button. Discreetly pressing the panic button immediately informs our control room services that there’s an emergency and they’ll start tracking the truck as soon as possible. The sooner a hijacking is reported, the higher the chances of recovery.
The three Cs of driving are care, caution, and courtesy. Care means you need to mind your actions on the road and follow the rules. Caution means watching out for what other drivers are doing on the road to avoid hazards. Courtesy means being a considerate driver and respecting others on the road to prevent issues of road rage.
Fleet management is critical for your fleet safety because it ensures that vehicles maintain roadworthiness and that drivers are handling the vehicles well. Through proper fleet management, your fleet will have lower accident rates, and you’ll avoid expensive compliance fines.
