Crime activists give motorists a lifeline
MBOMBELA - Tyre-spiking incidents on various main routes, hijackings and blue-light brigade armed robberies have been widely reported in the media during the past few months.
Two local travellers recently experienced the trauma first-hand when their vehicle struck an object, possibly a rock, and sustained significant damage on the N4 near Wonderfontein.
‘With crime out of control in the country, it is always a risk to travel from one spot to the other’
Although their vehicle was in no state to be driven, the travellers knew that being stranded left them vulnerable to attack.
Speaking to Lowvelder, the passenger, who asked to remain anonymous, said that despite the car overheating, they chose to slowly drive to a nearby filling station. They had some peace of mind, however, thanks to a system called Cyber Chaperone, that meant help was only a phone call away.
Within minutes of contacting eblockwatch founder André Snyman, a security industry role-player was on scene and stayed with the travellers until a towing service arrived and everyone was on their way home again.
Snyman is a well-known South African crimefighter. He launched eblockwatch as a community safety forum, but it subsequently evolved into a national crimefighting initiative with more than
127 000 followers on its Facebook group.
Volunteers from various industries, areas and communities have united to help victims of crime and also prevent crime by educating South Africans, said Snyman.
A more recent initiative by Snyman is Cyber Chaperone, designed to assist people who are travelling. When a distress call is received from a traveller, he immediately activates his Cyber Chaperone network.
Speaking to Snyman about the new system, he said the success of eblockwatch allowed him to build a large contact network across the country. The Cyber Chaperone system was specifically developed for
South African motorists and travellers, allowing users to be in direct contact with a sophisticated network of security control rooms, agricultural societies and other experts.
Users of Cyber Chaperone typically share their route, expected time of arrival, photo of their vehicle and car registration, photo of the driver and passengers, as well as their live location for the duration of their trip, on a WhatsApp group.
Their progress is monitored, and if they encounter problems or are in distress, the information is logged. Snyman’s team will dispatch assistance from the nearest network member, who will attend to the problem.
“With crime out of control in the country, it is always a risk to travel from one spot to the other,” said Snyman. “You are in green mode in the safety of your house and then decide to visit a restaurant. Obviously, the restaurant is also a green zone where you can relax.
“The problem, however, is to get from point A to B. This is where you must duck and dive to survive the gauntlet-filled route,” he said.
Snyman is in the process of developing a parallel system, called Travelbuddy, to assist overseas tourists. “From the moment travellers land in the country, they are in constant contact with a team to assist them, until they leave our shores. We plan to have real tourist guides to provide direct contact with the tourist, who in return is backed up by the network.”
Snyman has engaged with the Kruger Lowveld Chamber of Business and
Tourism to explore future collaboration with tourism operators in the Lowveld.