Police warn on the dangers of hitchhiking

POLOKWANE  – When the price of petrol soars and taxi associations raise their fares, scores of travellers all over the country opt for hitchhiking, even though they don’t know who the motorist is.

In recent times, there have been gruesome incidents in which hitchhikers were robbed of their valuable belongings while traveling with strangers after being picked up at hiking spots. In some of the dreadful incidents, women were murdered after they were robbed and raped.

On the other hand, motorists who picked up strangers ended up being hijacked.

Spokesperson for the Polokwane police, WO Lesiba Ramoshaba, has spoken out against these acts, requesting residents to desist from boarding cars belonging to strangers.

As law enforcement agents, we discourage people from hitchhiking as it is very risky. You don’t know the identity of the driver, where he is from and where he is heading. We advise people to refuse drinks offered during the trip as these drinks could be drugged. Many people ended up in the middle of nowhere after drinking drugged drinks and being attacked when they were inebriated.

Ramoshaba urged people to make use of public transport as it was safe and reliable.

Provincial Chairperson of the Federated Long Distance Taxi Association, Reuben Thaba, says even in the face of rampant crime, people still risk their lives thinking they are saving money.

“Why should you risk the precious gift God gave you for the love of money? Shouldn’t your life come first? Our taxis are safe, they transport commuters in large numbers and deliver them to their destinations.

“Some are even dropped off in their driveways. What makes our taxis safe is that in the event of long distance trips, commuters are urged to write down their details on a database which is kept safe by our queue marshalls at the ranks.

“If something like an accident happens, the information you jotted down in the trip book will make things easier when we try to trace your next of kin.”