From the Editor’s Desk
October 30, 2026
It’s Thursday night October 29th and as I write this, four trucks lie burnt and gutted on the N3, about 10km before Villiers. Not because of a horrific road accident. Not because of some mechanical failure. But because a group of criminals deliberately set out to destroy them. Why? What the hell were they hoping to achieve?
Earlier this evening, reports started coming through on various security groups to which I belong that trucks were burning on the N3. Initially, there was confusion over whether the fires had resulted from an accident. They hadn’t. The trucks had been deliberately petrol-bombed. I have just spoken to Dean Govender of 1Track, who, along with other members of his team, was quickly on the scene. He confirmed that four trucks had been burnt – two tankers, one loaded and one empty, and two curtainsiders.
According to Govender, who was still on the scene when we spoke, the attackers were on foot and had chosen their location carefully. Road construction had narrowed the highway from two lanes to one, forcing trucks to slow down. It was here that the attackers reportedly stopped the first truck, pulled the driver out and set the vehicle alight with petrol bombs. They then walked about a kilometer and torched another truck before crossing to the opposite carriageway and setting two more trucks alight. By the time the 1Track team arrived, the attackers had disappeared into the veld. SAPS was on the scene when I spoke to Govender, while Joeys Towing had already begun recovering the burnt wrecks to clear the road. The southbound lanes were expected to remain closed for some time, with trucks being allowed through the affected area on the northbound lanes in small groups. Progress was painfully slow.
And all of this because a group of thugs decided to go on a truck-burning spree. For what? What possible purpose does this destruction serve? At this stage, there is no confirmed indication of who was responsible or what motivated the attacks. All we know is that four trucks have been destroyed, transport operations disrupted and drivers exposed to a terrifying ordeal. One transporter had diverted his trucks to a truck stop about 30km before the scene, instructing his drivers to remain there overnight and continue their journeys in the morning. Absolutely the right decision. His drivers’ safety comes first. But think about the consequences. The lost operating hours. The delayed deliveries. The additional costs. The disruption to customers waiting for their goods. And, perhaps most importantly, think about the drivers who were caught up in the attacks. Imagine being dragged from your cab and watching your livelihood go up in flames. The psychological trauma of such an experience cannot simply be brushed aside.
Trucks are the wheels of our economy. Attack the trucks and you attack the very system that keeps this country moving. And that brings me to something else that has been weighing heavily on my mind; and this is in no way related to the thugs who burnt those trucks. I exclude them from the empathy I feel towards wider society as described below.
Before being alerted to the N3 attacks, I was watching News Night on eNCA. Residents from various communities were describing the appalling conditions in which they are being forced to live because of collapsing municipal services. The words running across the bottom of the screen summed it up: “Fix the sewerage, sort out the water.” One elderly woman was being interviewed alongside a pavement covered in foul sewage spilling out into the street. It was heartbreaking. Across South Africa, communities are battling failing sewage treatment works, unreliable water supplies, deteriorating roads and other critical infrastructure that has either been neglected or allowed to fall into disrepair. Is it any wonder that service delivery protests have become such a familiar feature of our national landscape? And again, I stress that I do not in any way equate tonight’s burning of trucks with any form of understandable service delivery action. That was pure thuggery and criminality which FleetWatch absolutely condemns.
The bigger picture, however, is deeply troubling. So much of what once worked in South Africa is either broken, deteriorating or under enormous strain. And it’s not as though the world beyond our borders is offering much comfort. The war in the Middle East has disrupted oil supplies and sent shockwaves through energy markets, with the consequences being felt at our fuel pumps. The Russia-Ukraine war continues, while the growing threat of climate change hangs over us all. Frankly, there are times when the world seems to have gone completely mad. But let’s bring this back home. Back to those four burnt trucks on the N3. Because here is the bitter irony. And here is my point….
Amid all the dysfunction, deterioration and uncertainty, one sector – the trucking industry – continues to do what it has always done. It keeps South Africa moving. Despite rising operating costs, deteriorating roads, crime, fuel-price volatility and a host of other obstacles, South Africa’s transport operators continue to get on with the job. Their trucks deliver food to supermarket shelves, medicines and essential supplies to hospitals, raw materials to factories, export commodities to the harbours, fuel to service stations, water to communities where taps have run dry. Day and night, through rain and sunshine, over good roads and bad, those trucks keep moving. And behind every one of them is a driver, a transport company, employees, families and customers who depend on that truck doing its job. Of course, the trucking industry has its problems. But it remains one of the essential pillars supporting an economy that can ill afford any more damage. So why attack it? Why destroy the very vehicles that deliver the goods and services on which we all depend?
Burning a truck doesn’t fix a broken sewerage system. It doesn’t put water back into the taps. It doesn’t repair a pothole, restore electricity or create a single job. It simply destroys another productive asset, puts more livelihoods at risk and adds another burden to an already struggling economy. And for what?
South Africa has enough things that are broken. We don’t need criminals deliberately breaking what is still working. Our trucks are not the enemy. They are part of what is keeping this country alive. For heaven’s sake, stop burning them. Start protecting them. Because when the wheels of the trucking industry stop turning, the wheels of South Africa’s economy stop with them.
Patrick O’Leary
Managing Editor, FleetWatch
Got something you want to get off your chest – or simply want to share your thoughts on ‘things’ trucking? Drop me a line at fleetwatch@pixie.co.za. I’d love to hear from you.
