Combat hijacking threats with Tracker’s smart tech for business vehicles

Tracker’s vehicle crime statistics for July to December 2024 indicate that across SA business-owned vehicles are twice as likely to be hijacked than stolen, with just over half of these vehicles hijacked in Gauteng. Hijacking becomes more pronounced when evaluating business-owned vehicles and specific provinces in the country.

In the Western Cape, business-owned vehicles are four times more likely to be hijacked than stolen. This rises to eight times in the Eastern Cape. In all regions, business-owned vehicle crime is skewed towards hijacking.

Countrywide, the likelihood of vehicle crime being a hijacking rather than a theft is 33% higher for business-owned vehicles compared to personal vehicles. Business-owned vehicles are also 56% more likely to experience vehicle crime compared to personal vehicles.

Business-owned vehicles range from cargo trucks with trailers to courier vehicles delivering items ordered online. Crime targeting these vehicles is highly lucrative, with criminals acquiring the vehicle, the goods being transported and the driver’s personal belongings, for example, mobile phone and cash.

Some of this crime is premeditated and systematic, where, for example, key features of the vehicle are tampered with during routine truck stops, causing drivers to pull over later to inspect warning signals. However, often this crime happens opportunistically when the vehicle is stopped along its route, for example, in a driveway during a delivery.

For a business, this crime can lead to direct losses of the vehicle and cargo. However, a business can also suffer indirect losses from the disruption caused to the supply chain.

It is therefore imperative for businesses to stay vigilant, understand prevailing trends, and adopt proactive measures to safeguard their assets.

Businesses can implement fleet tracking technologies to help mitigate crime and safeguard vehicles, cargo and drivers. These technologies include:

AI-powered dashcams and cameras

AI-powered fleet dashcams that are placed in the cabin of a truck or delivery vehicle, and are equipped with facial recognition on the edge coupled with a live look-in service, enable fleet managers to have visual confirmation of the driver. If an unauthorised person enters the vehicle, the functionality will trigger an exception notification, alerting the control centre of the breach. The control centre can then look in on the activity taking place in the cabin and take appropriate action, potentially preventing the loss of the vehicle and cargo. 

AI dashcams also provide immediate improved safety for drivers by monitoring driver attentiveness through facial recognition and alerting the driver in real time through a speaker, in response to triggers like drowsiness, distraction and mobile phone usage. This helps drivers stay alert on the road and avoid an event that could lead to a potential incident.

Cameras incorporating live monitoring features can be placed to view the surrounding environment, including other vehicles, road conditions and weather. These can be used to detect external hazards around the vehicle.

While legacy solutions required fleet managers to sift through and analyse hours of video footage, AI-enabled cameras incorporate software on the device to automatically record video footage continuously upon vehicle activation or before and after an event based on pre-configured capture triggers. The cameras upload the trigger event information to a secure online cloud-based portal and provide fleet managers with real-time alerts supported by the smaller, curated segments of video footage.

The footage captured by these dashcams and cameras significantly enhances a business’s ability to protect its drivers, fleet, cargo and logistics operations against risks on the road. The benefit is incident minimisation or avoidance, paired with resulting cost containment.

Geofencing

Geofencing, powered by telematics technology, has emerged as a critical tool in safeguarding fleet vehicles and cargo from theft, and drivers from harm. Geofencing employs Global Positioning System (GPS) and cellular technology to create virtual boundaries around specific geographical areas. Fleet managers can virtually geofence deemed unsafe zones and reroute vehicles away from identified crime hotspots.

Geofencing facilitates exception management. Fleet managers receive instant notifications if a vehicle enters a designated high-risk zone or leaves a designated safe zone, providing real-time visibility and control over fleet movements. Other early warning alerts include power supply interruption or border approach — possible security compromises involved in theft and hijacking.

One of the primary benefits of geofencing is its role in theft prevention. By setting up geofences around designated areas, routes or facilities, fleet managers can closely monitor vehicle movements and detect unauthorised use or deviations from planned routes. In the event of a vehicle being stolen, geofencing enables swift identification of the vehicle’s location, facilitating prompt recovery efforts and minimising potential losses.

The use of geofencing features can also enhance driver safety by proactively and rapidly dealing with unauthorised vehicle access and hijacking situations. In essence, the integration of telematics geofencing capabilities can strengthen the security of fleet operations and foster a culture of safety and vigilance within businesses. 

Cargo sensors

Cargo-specific tracking devices and load-monitoring sensors provide the essential tools required to monitor trailers. Fleet managers can set up designated safe and unsafe zones and get immediate notifications if any anomalies are detected with the trailers. For instance, if a cargo door is opened at a location not marked as a delivery site, in the event of unauthorised access to the cargo hold, or if there are changes in weight distribution.

Geofenced lock and unlock capability can give assurance to fleet managers that cargo doors remain locked for the duration of a trip and can only be unlocked once the cargo has entered a predefined zone, such as the forecourt at the delivery address. A further safeguard includes a remotely enabled key tag that can interface with the geofenced locking system to unlock a cargo door once the cargo is confirmed present at the designated delivery address.

Trailer tracking units also aid in cargo recovery efforts, minimising losses in the event of theft or hijacking.

Driver assistance

Features such as a driver assist button for emergencies can alert an on-duty fleet manager to implement mitigators or call the driver to arrange any required assistance. Businesses can also subscribe their drivers to a rapid emergency medical and armed response service.

Tracker CareGuard is a mobile application designed to dispatch personal protection services on demand. In the event of an emergency, drivers can press the panic button on the app. The nearest responder will be automatically dispatched to their exact location. They can also expect an immediate call from a controller to confirm the details of the emergency. Once a responder has been dispatched, drivers will be able to view the responder’s details and movement updates to track progress. Within minutes, drivers will have security response by their side, helping to protect and assist them, and secure the vehicle and cargo.

“A fleet crime incident not only results in a likely financial loss to a business, but more importantly, and more often, threatens the safety and wellbeing of the driver. Proactive vigilance, strategic investment in technology, and robust organisational policies are paramount in safeguarding fleets and drivers against evolving threats. By staying informed and adopting a holistic approach to security, businesses can mitigate risks and uphold the integrity of their operations in the face of adversity,” says Duma Ngcobo, COO at Tracker.

Visit the Tracker website for more information about the company’s fleet management solutions and smart vehicle tracking, driver safety and value-added services.

This article was sponsored by Tracker.