News

Drivers are more at risk of hijacking than ever before, according to as yet unreleased figures from TruckPol.

The number of hijackings grew from 84 in 2005 to 129 in 2006 says TruckPol’s DC Andy Round. The worrying trend is set against a background of huge loss to the road transport industry, with £24m worth of vehicles taken and a load loss value of £81.25m. In total freight crime cost at least £105.2m. The average incident for the 3,423  freight crimes reported in 2006 was worth £31,000.

In the last quarter of 2006 vehicle thefts almost doubled with incidents going from 232 to 407.

These figures do not express the whole problem however as Andy Round says there are still problems with consistency of reporting across the country. Household goods, car parts, building materials, including metals are still high on criminals wish lists, and police remind operators that many of the thefts are not opportunistic. "Some come from inside information," says Round. "These people know what they are after, and they know where it is."

Deception or ‘round the corner’ thefts are also on the increase - up from 12 in the last quarter of 2005 to 21 in the same period 2006 - with foreign drivers particularly being targeted perhaps because the are more easily confused by language or rules.

• For more details see news and analysis of truck crime trends in next week’s Commercial Motor.
• Have  you been the victim of a violent or deception-based theft? Tell us what it was like and help other drivers avoid this nightmare - email  Louise Cole.