Gauteng road spike attacks: motorists must be on high alert

GAUTENG motorists should be on high alert for criminals placing spikes or objects on public roads especially on Friday evenings and throughout the weekend between 6pm and 4am.

This comes after an increase in incidents where motorists have been targeted by robbers, either through the placing of spikes on roads or heavy objects being thrown from overhead bridges.

On Friday night, a suspect who allegedly placed spikes on the R80 highway near Pretoria was shot dead by a motorist.

When the motorist tried to change a punctured tyre at around 9pm, the suspects fired shots at him and his family. The motorist fired back, fatally wounding one suspect while two accomplices, who are alleged to be part of a syndicate, fled.

Earlier this month, Limpopo police arrested four suspects believed to be part of a spiking gang terrorising motorists along the N1 and R101 between Polokwane and Pretoria.

Police are working hard to reduce spiking incidents along the N4 and R566 highways particularly.

“The modus operandi is that these criminals move from one area to the other where the roads are quiet to rob motorists of their hardearned cash and belongings.

“These incidents happen especially on Friday evenings and throughout the weekend between 6pm and 4am,” the Gauteng Traffic Police said.

Several routes have been identified as hot spots for such acts, among them the N4 Mpumalanga to Pretoria between Solomon Mahlangu and Watermeyer off-ramp, and the N4 Pretoria to Mpumalanga between Bronkhorstspruit and Balmoral off-ramp.

Others are the N1 Polokwane N4 Mpumalanga interchange in Pretoria, the N4 to Rustenburg between R80 Mabopane Freeway and Brits plaza tollgate, and the Golden Highway and R21 Freeway from OR Tambo International Airport to Pretoria