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(c) Elliott Publishing.

African Road Gear
Err Travel · August 17, 1999

South Africa is a dangerous place, but a few South Africans simply won't put up with it. For example, when it comes to a crime like carjacking, forget the Immobilizer antitheft device. Never mind the Lojack car recovery gizmo. And bag The Club.

South Africans want to give carjackers a real challenge.

Alright. So how about we sell them under-dash nerve gas canisters, electrified steering wheels, retinal-burning instrument lamps, or -- my favorite Ticked-Off carjacking deterrent -- scorpion-dispensing headliners?

Why will this extreme hardware prove popular in South Africa?

Well to begin with, according to Interpol, South Africa has the world's third highest murder rate (somewhere around 20,000 a year) exceeded only by Columbia and Swaziland. Robbery, burglary, mugging, and especially carjacking are on the rise.

In fact, in South Africa criminals are hitting the roads - and the travelers on them - in such violent ways that "simple" carjackings no longer cause the concern they should. Here is a sampler of road-related, violent crime in the opening months of 1999:

-- The president of Daewoo Motor's South African division was shot dead in his car as he passed through the security gate in front of his house.

-- Three men carjacked a van carrying the wife of Greece's consul-general.

-- Members of an Elderhostel tour group were robbed at gunpoint while on a bus outing.

-- An Austrian journalist was fatally shot in a foiled carjacking attempt.

-- A group of children had their minibus carjacked while it was carrying them to school.

The unabridged tally includes non-highway violent crimes like a half-dozen politically motivated murders; the gunning down of a prominent veterinarian; a Canadian High Commissioner roughed up in his hotel; a soccer player shot by a referee; an American United Nations official raped; a well known photojournalist stabbed; or even -- get this -- the killings of South African police in their own station houses. You get the point. (For a daily account of crime in South Africa, check out The South African Crime Pages.)

In light of the extremely violent nature of the crimes being committed on South African roads, residents there have been taking some equally creative measures to protect themselves. They aren't just dinking around with simple door locks, alarms, or auto locators any more. No, they are adding some serious security hardware to their cars. These include -- for real -- such grim gadgets as chassis-mounted, spring-loaded swords; under-seat shotguns; and driver-activated flame throwers.

Planning a motoring holiday in South Africa? Place your automotive equipment order today. Operators are standing by.

Dr. Terry Riley is a psychologist and travel security authority. Visit his site at http://www.appliedpsychology.com or e-mail him at riley@appliedpsychology.com.