Every driver who sets out on a South African highway carries the same quiet hope: to arrive home. For a growing number of motorists, that hope has been interrupted by a brick falling from a bridge, a spike laid across a lane of the N4, or a stranger tapping on a window at a traffic light. Behind each reported incident is a person who was simply travelling to work, collecting children, or returning from a long shift, and who suddenly found the journey turned against them. That is the reality Mike Bolhuis Specialised Security Services (SSS) sets out in a public document on roadside crime, a project that catalogues the methods criminals use and the toll they take on ordinary road users. The full project reference can be found at https://www.mikebolhuis.co.za/post/project-road-crime-in-south-africa-smash-and-grab-attacks-road-spiking-and-the-dangers-lurking-o
The human cost begins with the methods themselves. A smash-and-grab attack happens in seconds: a perpetrator approaches a stationary vehicle at an intersection or off-ramp, breaks a window, and takes a handbag, cellphone or laptop before the driver can react. The people targeted are often distracted, alone, and hemmed in by traffic with little room to move. Road spiking works more slowly but no less cruelly. Sharp objects are laid across the roadway to puncture a tyre, and when the driver stops to inspect the damage, sometimes with people waiting nearby, the moment of vulnerability becomes the moment of attack. Rocks, bricks and concrete blocks placed in traffic lanes can damage tyres, windscreens and suspension systems, and at night poor visibility makes the danger harder to see in time.
Objects thrown from overhead bridges carry perhaps the gravest physical risk. Gauteng Traffic Police have previously warned motorists about this method, in which rocks and bricks hurled from bridges can shatter windscreens, injure occupants and cause drivers to lose control. When a driver loses control, the victims are not only the intended target. Passengers and other innocent motorists on the same road may be caught in the consequences. Even when a vehicle remains drivable after such an impact, the instinct to stop and inspect the damage can hand criminals the opportunity they were counting on.
The deception does not always involve force. Some perpetrators stage accidents or fake emergencies, claiming a vehicle has crashed or that someone is injured, to persuade a motorist to stop. Others signal that a tyre is flat or a wheel is loose, hoping the driver will pull over so that accomplices can move in. Still others impersonate law enforcement, using vehicles resembling police cars, counterfeit identification or unauthorised blue lights. For the motorist on the receiving end, each of these situations exploits the same instinct: the willingness to help, or the fear of doing something wrong. SSS advises that genuine emergencies should never be ignored, but that drivers can contact emergency services and report a location without approaching an unknown situation. Anyone signalled to stop by a suspicious vehicle should, where circumstances permit, drive to a safe, populated location or police station to verify who is attempting to stop them.
The geography of these threats is wide. Recent media reports have again highlighted dangers on the N2 near Cape Town, including the stretch approaching Somerset West and Cape Town International Airport, but SSS warns that this is not an isolated regional problem. Similar methods have been reported in Gauteng, the Western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and other provinces. In Gauteng, reported smash-and-grab concerns include the N1 off-ramps at Garsfontein, Atterbury, Lynnwood and Rigel Avenue in Pretoria and Centurion, as well as Fountains Circle and intersections such as Lynnwood Road and Solomon Mahlangu Drive. Reports from March 2026 highlighted rocks placed on the N4 between Silverlakes and Donkerhoek, causing tyre damage. In Johannesburg and Ekurhuleni, areas of concern include the N3 between Leondale and Barry Marais Road, the N17 between Rondebult and Heidelberg Road, the Golden Highway and the R21 between OR Tambo International Airport and Pretoria. In Cape Town, the City has previously identified Jakes Gerwel Drive as a smash-and-grab problem area, with criminal incidents detected through its CCTV network, and the N2 near the airport and Somerset West turn-off remains a particular concern. Durban motorists are advised to stay alert at intersections and traffic lights, including the M4 and Margaret Mncadi Avenue and Julius Nyerere Avenue and Anton Lembede Street, while long-distance travellers on the N4 and N12 between provinces face added risk where roadside assistance is limited.
Some drivers carry more of this burden than others. Motorists travelling alone may have fewer people to watch for suspicious activity, help with decisions or call for help, and criminals may perceive a lone driver as an easier target, particularly at night or on an unfamiliar route. Women travelling alone are urged to be especially cautious about stopping in isolated areas or accepting help from strangers, though SSS stresses that these precautions apply to everyone: men, women, families and commercial drivers can all become victims. The psychological aftermath is also real. A sudden attack can leave trauma, anxiety, a fear of travelling, and a lasting loss of confidence on routes that once felt familiar.
Meanwhile, the practical guidance offered to motorists is grounded in protecting life first. Before travelling, drivers are advised to plan routes, check tyres, brakes and lights, keep a charged cellphone and emergency numbers accessible, and share travel details with a trusted person on long journeys. While driving, doors should stay locked and windows closed, following distances generous, and valuables out of sight. If confronted with an obstruction, the advice is to reduce speed, avoid sudden manoeuvres, and, if the vehicle remains controllable, proceed cautiously to a secure, populated location rather than stopping in an exposed area. If a vehicle is disabled, motorists should contact emergency services or roadside assistance, keep doors locked if suspicious individuals approach, and once safe, report to SAPS, preserve dashcam footage and photographs, and obtain a case number.
The wider consequence, SSS notes, is a slow erosion of public confidence in the safety of the country’s road network, as commuters change routes and businesses absorb the costs. Individual vigilance matters, but the organisation is clear that it cannot replace effective law enforcement: recurring attacks demand sustained investigation, visible policing and accountability from the authorities responsible for road safety. For the motorists who share these roads, the message is simple. The objective is not merely to reach your destination. It is to reach it safely.