The convenience of e-commerce during and after the Covid-19 pandemic has significantly boosted South Africa’s online retail sector, leading to a surge in activity within the nation’s freight and logistics industry. According to Mordor Intelligence, the sector was valued at R402 billion in 2023 and is projected to grow to around R590 billion by 2029.
Growth of Grocery Delivery Services
Grocery delivery services have expanded rapidly to meet growing demand. Statista reports that the number of users of these services is expected to reach 7.8 million by 2028, resulting in an increase in the number of delivery vehicles, including motorcycles, on South African roads.
Rising Incidence of Vehicle Crime
With South Africa’s high vehicle crime rates, the increased presence of delivery vehicles has led to a rise in hijacking incidents. Criminals are increasingly targeting courier and logistics vehicles involved in transporting online purchases. Tracker’s Vehicle Crime Index (VCI), which gathers data from over 1.1 million subscribers, reveals that hijackings account for 55% of all vehicle crime incidents nationally. Business-owned vehicles are nearly twice as likely to be hijacked as they are to be stolen, compromising both driver safety and the security of cargo.
Combating Vehicle and Cargo Crime
Fleet managers in South Africa must adopt comprehensive strategies to combat vehicle and cargo crime and ensure driver safety. Traditional methods like telematics tracking and stolen vehicle recovery services remain essential, but the increasing sophistication and violence of vehicle-related crimes necessitate a reassessment of priorities.
Protecting Cargo and Drivers
Cargo can often be more valuable than the vehicles transporting it, leading to opportunistic hijackings that endanger drivers. Fleet managers need to implement solutions that provide visibility and recoverability for cargo trailers and high-value freight items, alongside measures to ensure driver safety.
Addressing Road Network Challenges
South Africa’s deteriorating road network poses additional challenges for logistics. With trucks replacing trains on long-haul routes due to decaying rail infrastructure, drivers are more exposed to both criminal activity and accidents.
Fleet Management Tools and Tips
1. Geofencing: Use geofencing features on telematics platforms to mark safe and unsafe zones for your fleet. Alerts can notify you if a vehicle enters an unsafe area.
2. AI Dash Cameras: Install AI dash cameras to monitor road and in-cab activity. These cameras can prevent theft through facial recognition and help avoid accidents by monitoring driver behavior such as drowsiness or speeding.
3. Armed Guard Services: Subscribe to services that can dispatch armed guards to a driver’s location during emergencies, ensuring the safety of the driver, vehicle, and cargo.
4. In-Cab Assist Button: An in-cab assist button allows drivers to alert fleet managers without relying on a cell phone, prompting immediate assistance.
5. Journey Sharing: Track drivers and monitor their routes. If a route deviates or journey progress stalls, take action to ensure driver and cargo safety.
6. Regular Vehicle Maintenance: Regular maintenance prevents breakdowns that create vulnerabilities for drivers and cargo. Use telematics platforms to plan and schedule maintenance.
7. Route Planning: Plan and share routes in advance, varying them when traveling frequently between the same locations.
Enhancing Vehicle and Cargo Safety
1. Tracking for All Vehicles: Ensure your tracking and recovery solution covers vehicles, motorcycles, and trailers.
2. Keyless Entry Protection: Use Faraday pouches for keyless entry fobs to prevent relay entry attacks, where criminals amplify the fob signal to steal vehicles.
Conclusion
“The degree of technological innovation from reactive to proactive and then pre-emptive vehicle tracking has impacted positively on driving down the rate of vehicle crime, yet criminal syndicates have also become more resourceful and highly sophisticated,” says Duma Ngcobo, Chief Operating Officer at Tracker. “Tracker encourages businesses to heed the escalation in business vehicle-related crime and to adopt proactive behaviours that could help mitigate vehicle theft, cargo theft, and above all, protect drivers.”
