Harassed and often targeted by militant organisations who want to disrupt the movement of freight, truck drivers are increasingly unsafe on South African roads. With more than a 1000 trucks having been attacked and set alight, drivers often feared for their lives when moving cargo, said Doreen van Rooyen of the South African Long-Distance Truckers’ Association (Salta). “It is not just the recent attacks around the issue of the employment of foreign drivers that are increasing fear,” she said. “Drivers are often unsafe not only because we don’t have enough truck stop facilities, but many that do exist are inadequate, leaving drivers and their vehicles vulnerable to elements of crime.” She said drivers were responsible for millions of rands worth of cargo in addition to the vehicles they were driving. “The increase in service delivery protest action in the country is another concern that impacts negatively on drivers. Trucks are often caught in the middle of these protests or targeted by protesters and looted.” At other times, as was the case recently in the Western Cape, trucks were ambushed by criminals for the cargo. In May this year a truck driver was killed in such an incident near De Doorns when a rock was thrown through the windscreen. The driver lost control of the vehicle and crashed. He was then trampled to death by the thieves looting the truck for its R2.5-million load. Van Rooyen said the stoning of vehicles was becoming the norm, while the theft of diesel and tyres was an ongoing concern. She said heavy vehicles were often targeted by diesel and tyre thieves. “More and more of our members are saying it is becoming too unsafe to stop – and that includes at paid truck stops. Two weeks ago in Winburg all the tyres were stolen off a truck and not just the tyre, they took everything. All that was left were a couple of nuts.” According to Van Rooyen some transporters are opting for nut locks in order to stop tyre theft, but this in itself is placing drivers at risk. “All the thieves do is attack the driver and force him to hand over the tool to unlock the wheel nut. We are just putting our drivers in more danger. The challenges truck drivers face are massive and they are real.” Van Rooyen said it was imperative to create a safer working environment for truck drivers. “We want to see more partnerships with the various stakeholders in the government and private sector to increase awareness programmes on road safety and to improve working conditions for drivers.”
INSERT: Two weeks ago in Winburg all the tyres were stolen off a truck and not just the tyre, they took everything. – Doreen van Rooyen