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Beware the Tyre Thieves

Crime in the trucking business is growing more imaginative by the day. Latest news is that tyre thieves working from a bakkie equipped with a compressor and other sophisticated equipment and tools which enables them to quickly remove tyres from truck tractors and trailers are operating along the N3. That they conduct their dastardly deeds while the driver is asleep in the cab shows just how bold these criminals are becoming writes FleetWatch correspondent Danie Botha.

A Freightpak rig was parked alongside the Warden truck stop at night with the driver asleep in the cab. The driver woke up to find thieves busy removing the tyres from his trailer. He started the truck’s engine and the thieves fled but not before they had succeeded in removing - and taking with them - four rims and tyres.

According to the driver, a white bakkie kitted out with a compressor and other equipment sped from the scene. It is not the first time this bakkie has been seen in action. What this tells us is that these guys are really professional in their approach and are obviously focussing their efforts on tyre theft. Operators be warned!

"Everybody on the road is a thief and a liar until proved otherwise." This is what Martin Kennedy from Freightpak now tells his drivers after the company suffered under the wrath of the tyre thieves. Terrible - but understandable - that the criminals have now succeeded in tarring the innocent with the same brush as their own.

"Our drivers now only stop at the safest truck stops available. We believe all stops should be built with security in mind and outsiders must not be able to get even close to the trucks. We can’t expect our drivers to guard their trucks all the time. They also need to sleep," he says.

Some truck stops are now employing armed security guards and this seem to have done the trick.

"We haven’t had one report of theft at the stop since employing guards. They are on the premises 24-hours of the day and we also exercise strict access control with an entrance register having to be signed," says Jurgen Milz from the Tugela Truck Inn between Harrismith and Ladysmith.

Unfortunately, not all truck stops along the N3 route are as safe. According to some drivers, theft at unguarded stops is very much a reality of life. "We would be more than willing to pay a reasonable fee if we knew our trucks and drivers were safe when they stop at night," says Kennedy.

Sentinel Transport, another company that frequently uses the N3 between Johannesburg and Durban, has its own overnight stop near Harrismith to safeguard the trucks and drivers against would-be thieves. "Our trucks also drive in convoys and are not allowed to stop next to the road to sleep. Our truck stop at Harrismith is the only place where the drivers may stop," says Sentinel’s Michael Naidoo.

One of the biggest unofficial truck stops on the N3 route is the Mooi River Toll Plaza where lines and lines of trucks are parked every night. According to the Mooi River police, theft from trucks is rife with hundreds of thousands of Rand being lost to the industry.

"We have four policemen in the Crime Prevention unit who do regular stake-outs but for four policemen to cover a line of about 500 metres of trucks is pushing things," says Captain Rudman, head of the Mooi River Crime Prevention Unit

Biggest problem is truck owners

He states, however, that the biggest stumbling block in their fight against crime lies with the truck owners themselves. "When we do arrest a suspect, the truck company has to appear in court and they rarely do. Without a complainant there is no case and the suspect has to be set free."

"Another problem is the high unemployment rate in the surrounding areas of the plaza, which currently stands at about 65%. These people try make a living from the trucks and as a result, crime is definitely on the increase," he says.

Bulldog Hauliers’ driver, Raynold Mbokazi, says the risk of being hijacked increases when you get close to Johannesburg or Durban as the thieves have a better chance of getting rid of their loot fast. He also reckons any company which allows its drivers to stop a rig along an isolated stretch of road is asking for trouble.

We agree with him. The old days of stopping alongside the road for a quick nap or snack are gone. Thieves and hijackers have once again succeeded in curtailing our freedom of movement.

It is obvious that the message to truck drivers is to always sleep over at a safe and well lit truck stop - not at a plaza or next to the road. And, who knows, if truck owners can bring themselves to attend the court cases where suspects have to appear, then maybe the crime situation will begin to look different.

Editor's Note: As a matter of interest, FleetWatch phoned the toll free Tyre Theft Hotline on a number of occasions to pass on this information. The phone was never answered so we left messages. We're still waiting for a reply. Is anyone still out there?

I also find it quite surprising that, according to the police, truck owners do not attend court cases when a suspect is brought to trial. We're always moaning about the inefficiency of the justice system. Are we perhaps pointing fingers in the wrong direction? Why do operators not bother to attend these cases? Have they lost so much faith in the courts that they can’t be bothered? Or is it that they have accepted crime as part of the operational hazards of transport to such a degree that they can’t be bothered to help stop it by helping to lock criminals away? A sort of 'nothing will change anyway' attitude. If any operator has any thoughts on this, please let us know.

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