Be safe: What to do if you are hijacked

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If you are being hijacked or robbed, as the first and golden rule you must not antagonise the hijackers.

Kobeli Mokheseng, spokesperson for the EMPD, said that you should show them you are not a threat.

• Lift up your arms to show you have no weapon.
• Use your left arm to undo your seat belt and put your vehicle in neutral.
• Do not turn off your vehicle.
• If you are hijacked while your children are in the car, climb out of the vehicle slowly and tell the hijackers calmly that you need to take your children out. Remember that the eldest child should always be seated behind the driver and the younger child to the left. Move to the back door directly behind the driver’s door. Place one foot firmly in the car, on the floor behind the driver’s seat, as you lean across to retrieve the youngest child. The eldest child will probably cling to you and you can get both children out of the car at once.
• Stay calm. If the hijackers panic and the vehicle starts moving before you have your children out of the car, your firm footing in the vehicle will throw your body weight into the car with your children, as opposed to you being left behind and the hijackers speeding off with your children.
• Do not turn your back on the hijackers, as your organs are most exposed from the back.
• Avoid direct eye contact with the hijackers.