[imagesource:googlemaps]

Los Angeles couple Jason and Kate Zoladz were en route to Cape Town International Airport on Tuesday, 24 October, when Google Maps made them take a turn for the worst.

The couple were on their way to the airport to exchange their rental car for a 4×4 to drive to the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, leaving their Airbnb in Simon’s Town in the morning.

Google Maps gives you about three different routes to get to the airport from Simon’s Town, and the road along the coast must have seemed a more worthwhile drive. But taking the R310 Baden Powell Drive before turning left onto the M22 New Eisleben Road proved to be the worst possible choice for Jason and Kate as they were soon confronted with the harsh reality of Cape Town crime.

At an intersection of New Eisleben Road and Sheffield Road in Browns Farm, Philippi, four men approached their rental car, smashed the window and Jason’s jaw along with it, robbing them at gunpoint.

Image: Google Maps

The Daily Maverick reported that the attack occurred about six kilometres from the airport and mere blocks from the notoriously crime-ridden stretch of road known as the Hell’s Run on the N2 highway.

Image: Google Maps

Kate said that the brick had smashed Jason’s jaw “to the bone”, necessitating two surgeries to repair it, while also ricocheting off Jason and hitting Kate’s arm, bruising it.

“They didn’t say anything but they pointed their guns at me and grabbed my bag off my body and started patting me down and going through my pockets. They also took the keys that were in the ignition.”

She shakily gave up three mobile phones and credit cards. Then the men began firing gunshots in the air. Speaking to Daily Maverick, the couple described there being “hundreds of people”, including school children, near the scene at the time of the attack.

“When the shots stopped, I looked over to where Jason was. He stood up next to the car and had blood gushing down the side of his neck. At this point, one of the men with guns came back and handed him the keys to the car,” Kate said.

“I think when they saw how badly he was injured they decided not to take the car, or maybe they realised it was a rental – for whatever reason, they decided not to take the car,” she said.

They immediately got back onto the road but Jason was losing too much blood and feeling faint, so Kate took over the wheel. Eventually, they found a police officer who escorted them to Melomed Tokai Private Hospital.

Unfortunately, this is not a rare occurrence. Daily Maverick reported on a similar incident that occurred on the same stretch of road in April, where Google Maps directed Leonie van der Westhuizen to her death after a stone shattered the car window and struck her in the head, triggering cardiac arrest.

Mayoral committee member for safety and security JP Smith told Daily Maverick in April, that “attacks on road users have become an all too common occurrence”.

Between July and September 2023, Ruth Solomons, the spokesperson for the City of Cape Town’s metro police department, said that they had responded to 1,061 incidents on the N2 and R300 in Cape Town.

“The City has numerous enforcement services that deploy daily along the major routes in the metropole, including the R300, N2 and N7, following an increase in incidents over the past decade,” Solomons said.

Unfortunately, road users in general are vulnerable to attack, as indicated in the statistics.

“The City advises anyone travelling in an area that they are unfamiliar with, to stick to the major routes as far as possible, and use exits closest to their destination. For tourists in particular, we advise that they liaise with their travel agent or local police station in the area where they are staying to find the best and safest routes to the airport and other attractions,” she said.

There could also be more engagement with Google Maps to implement safeguards for drivers, such as excluding certain unsafe routes or in-app alerts to users warning of high-crime areas, as the Zoladzes suggest.

There could also be more signage warning of crime hot spots, and initiatives at Cape Town International Airport alerting tourists to unsafe routes.

Apparently, Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis had an urgent meeting with Google Maps scheduled for today, 2 November, so hopefully, they can come up with something to abate this trend.

[source:dailymaverick]