South Africa’s national roads are increasingly becoming crime corridors, according to a new study that found criminals are exploiting highways, freight routes and busy interchanges to carry out violent crimes such as hijackings, shootings and smash-and-grab attacks.
The findings were presented in a paper at the 44th Southern African Transport Conference in Pretoria and shared by Serialong Kumalo, communications consultant for the Southern African Transport Conference (SATC).
According to Kumalo, the research shows that South Africa’s road safety crisis extends far beyond speeding, reckless driving, poor vehicle maintenance and weak law enforcement. Instead, it points to violent crime as an increasingly significant threat to motorists and other road users.
“South Africa’s road safety crisis may be even more complex than previously understood. It is not only reckless driving, vehicle defects, speeding or poor enforcement that are placing road users at risk. Criminals are now exploiting the road network itself,” Kumalo said.
The study, titled Road-Based Crimes on the National Road Network: An Initial Investigation, forms part of broader research by the South African National Roads Agency Limited (SANRAL) into driver behaviour and road safety.
