For many months citizens in South Africa stayed at home in very strict and restrictive ways in order to take care of their health. After COVD-19 was declared as a pandemic, the measures taken by the South African government asked people to stay safely at home, with the hope that a lockdown would help the sanitary system to be prepared to help South Africans.
Nowadays, these restrictions have been loosened and more and more people are going out of their houses. This path back to previous ways has brought about a new configuration of society in several aspects, since it has been paramount to adapt to the current world and country context. Although many of them are beneficial and people are re-engaging in the everyday activities they used to carry out before lockdown, some other late trends have proved to be detrimental to the population, one of these in the form of a crime which has increased in numbers. We are to mention car hijackings which have shown to be higher these past months than in this same period in 2019.
This situation is getting worse very fast and without control, this is why citizens have to be alert and well informed about what hijacking is and how it works. It is important to be aware of what to do in case of being part of a hijack, as well. Hijackers take control of vehicles while they are on the move in very violent ways. There are many consequences when dealing with a crime of this sort, not only economically, but also the person affected may have to deal with hijack trauma.
An organization in South Africa called National Hijacking Prevention Academy (NHPA) provides the South African population with information as regards the nature of this crime, as well as security awareness and drivers training to be able to avoid damage to their property and themselves in the case of an incident provoked by other people.
It is necessary to get to know and learn when hijackers operate, how they do it, the kind of weapons they use, among other details. Also, divers should find out how to avoid being a victim, this may involve tricks as simple as getting to know your neighbours or smartly planning your everyday driving route.
Another measure to be taken is to get automobiles insured. These criminal dangerous situations remind the citizenry the importance of being insured to travel safely and feel protected while being on the streets. Earlier in the year, people saw the need of cutting down on their expenditures as a result of the crisis provoked by the measures taken to lower the number of people infected by COVID-19 in the country. Many South Africans thought that being insured might be a luxury and nonsense due to the fact that they stayed at home during lockdown.
Following these thoughts a great part of the population stopped paying their premiums. However, now that most South Africans are on the go again, the importance of being covered by comprehensive insurance comes to evidence.
There is a need to adapt to the rapid changes taking part in the country and around the world. In order to do this, citizens not only in South Africa, but also all over the world need to stay alert to changes and be actively learning how to cope and handle the new normal.
