Cape Town’s highway from hell where people are attacked and robbed every day

The N2 highway between Cape Town and Somerset West has become known as the Hell Run due to the violent attacks on motorists.

Cape Town Metro Police data showed that 2,215 crime-related incidents were recorded on the N2 and R300 roads between November 2024 and November 2025.

What stands out about the incidents is their violent nature. They included robberies, shootings and attacks on vehicles.

A particularly prevalent crime is that criminals throw rocks from bridges or the roadside to smash windshields and force cars to stop.

Spikes or debris are sometimes placed on the road to cause punctures, which the criminals use to stop cars and ambush those in the vehicle.

Many people have raised the alarm about the issue, including Vergelegen managing director Wayne Coetzer.

Vergelegen is a historic wine estate in Somerset West, which means that employees regularly travel to Cape Town and back.

Coetzer said that many of his staff have been victims of smash-and-grab attacks and rock throwing on the N2.

His son was nearly killed on this road after criminals threw a boulder at his car when he was travelling on the N2 near the airport.

Karin van Aardt, a retired teacher from Nelspruit, was killed when she and her husband travelled from the Cape Town International Airport.

While stuck in traffic at the intersection of Jakkalsvlei Avenue and Jakes Gerwel Drive, a man smashed the passenger window.

The assailant lunged into the car to grab her handbag and stabbed her multiple times in the chest during the struggle.

In another incident, Cape Town resident Mandy Sass shared her experience in a video, saying she was lucky to be alive.

“I was um driving on the N2 coming from Somerset West, and someone threw a cement block at our car. It went through the windshield and hit me,” she said.

“My mom and my sister had to grab the steering wheel because I was the driver. We were lucky that we did not hit any cars.”

She said they were lucky to have been able to drive away from the scene to ensure the criminals could not attack them.

She had to spend three days in the hospital and is currently recovering from the injuries she suffered during the attack.

Building a wall to protect motorists on the N2

Last year, Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis announced plans for a significant security project to address the violence on the N2 highway.

In December 2025, the Mayor confirmed that the City of Cape Town intends to build a high-security wall to separate the highway from surrounding high-risk areas.

The City of Cape Town has long argued that responsibility for the N2 rests with the South African National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) and the provincial government.

These responsibilities surrounding this national road include maintaining footbridges, fencing and road medians.

However, Hill-Lewis said the city has decided to step in due to the ongoing danger to motorists and the persistent violent attacks.

Hill-Lewis confirmed that the city is planning to erect a security wall along the section of the N2 around the airport, despite the significant cost involved.

The estimated price tag is R180 million, and funding for the project is being prepared as part of the city’s upcoming medium-term revenue and expenditure framework.

The Freedom Front Plus (FF Plus) welcomed the decision. The party said that it would help improve motorist safety along the dangerous stretch of road.

Organisations like the South African Human Rights Commission and local community groups have criticised the plan.

They argue that the wall may reinforce apartheid-era spatial planning and that the R180 million would be better spent addressing the root causes of crime.

Hill-Lewis dismissed these criticisms, saying the investment is needed to address the safety problems and make citizens safer.

Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia said that the South African Police Service does not view the N2 safety project as a replacement for boots on the ground.

He said the wall might offer some situational crime prevention by limiting pedestrian access to the highway.

However, the physical barrier will do nothing to address the broader criminal elements operating just beyond the immediate roadside.