Cape Town’s N2 and R300 highways have recently become war zones for motorists due to a sharp increase in stone-throwing incidents and lethal attacks. Yet, the City of Cape Town’s approach remains reactive rather than proactive.
The Freedom Front Plus (VF Plus) received numerous complaints from motorists who had recently been victims of these attacks on the N2.
On Tuesday (11 November) at approximately 20:00, a family from Johannesburg, among them a baby, was targeted when a stone struck their vehicle. The incident caused extensive damage to their car and left the family severely traumatised.
The Freedom Front Plus also spoke on the phone with a doctor from Somerset West after he was attacked on Thursday (13 November) at 19:00 near the Borcherds Quarry off-ramp. He sustained chest injuries and was admitted to hospital.
Yet another shocking incident was posted on social media by a mother whose son’s vehicle was struck by a stone earlier this month on the Stellenbosch Arterial, just before he turned onto the R300.
New data from the Cape Town Metro Police paints an ominous picture of the situation. Drastic measures must urgently be implemented to prevent further injuries or deaths on the notorious “Hell Run”.
This so-called “Hell Run” stretches from Somerset West to the Cape Town International Airport and includes the R300 junction.
Between November 2024 and November 2025, law enforcement responded to 2 215 crime-related incidents on the N2 and R300 corridors — including stone-throwing, robberies and shootings.
In the airport precinct alone, 42 incidents of bricks being thrown at vehicles were recorded between April 2024 and March 2025. In the past six months, at least five confirmed stone-throwing attacks were documented.
Incidents include:
• A fatal shooting on 28 July 2025 after stone-throwers forced a motorist to stop on the R300.
• A concrete block was hurled at a moving vehicle on 1 August 2025, which seriously injured a female passenger.
These attacks follow a chilling pattern: stones or bricks are thrown from pedestrian bridges, roadsides or the edges of informal settlements, shattering windscreens thereby forcing drivers to stop, after which they are robbed, hijacked or brutally assaulted.
Despite 285 CCTV cameras and 24/7 highway patrols, broken fences and dysfunctional security systems allow perpetrators — often juveniles from nearby informal settlements — to strike and disappear.
Meanwhile, the human toll keeps mounting. Motorists suffer facial injuries, trauma and vehicle damage, while tourists arriving at or departing from the Airport are increasingly targeted.
SANRAL recorded more than 200 similar incidents in 2023 and based on the current trend, 2025 will be even worse.
This is an emergency. A multi-stakeholder indaba between the City of Cape Town, SANRAL, the police and the provincial government has to be convened as soon as possible.
The Freedom Front Plus believes action should be taken immediately by implementing the following steps:
• Repair all damaged highway fencing and reactivate faulty CCTV cameras.
• Permanently deploy armed patrols at the six high-risk pedestrian bridges.
• Roll out youth training programmes in Philippi, Nyanga and Crossroads to address the root causes.
• Integrate real-time incident reporting between the Metro Police, SANRAL and the public via the i-TRAFFIC app.
Prevention is not an option; it is absolutely crucial.
Every broken fence and unguarded bridge serves as an invitation for another attack.
The City cannot shirk its responsibility. If action is not taken at once, the blood of innocent motorists will be on its hands.
