Stop Lights Alarming Tyre-Slashing by Night-time Vandals

Roadside crimes and other related violence are widespread here in Metro Manila area and in the South. Recently surfaced on social media, a vandals steal a motorcycle in less than 2 mins. and now a new form of roadside crime alarming motorist. 

Previous month, in the South a public road near Daang Hari Stop-light, an alarming story was shared to "Alabang Bulletin". And earlier same story happened in Quezon Ave. and Commonwealth Quezon city surfaced online  in Facebook. Tyre-Slashing, a new roadside crime to lure motorists, as a night-time vandals approach a vehicle during red light and slashed the tires. The motive of the vandals is not sure, but it's possible another group tailgating and waiting for the victim's vehicle to breakdown.

Daang Hari Victim Statement via Facebook

Last night on our way home to Parañaque from Cavite, my sister and I got ambushed in Daang Hari around 11pm. We were driving in convoy when suddenly while we were waiting for the green light, I saw 3 men go at her car from behind. When i saw someone kneel beside one of her tires, I started honking at them. 

Good thing my sister took the cue of my honking like crazy to drive off, and I did the same. Then she called me, saying it feels like something is wrong with her tires so I told her to continue driving and to not stop until we reach a gas station or at least a well-lit area, because we’ll never know if those guys have companions along the road waiting for the car to break down. 

To the people out there, and most especially to the lady drivers, please be very very careful. My sister’s car is not tinted, so most probably the guys think it would be easier for them to do what they were planning to do because the driver was a woman. We need to be always alert, also we always need to make sure that car doors are locked at all times.

On a Facebook post by Verniece Zamora, she shared her experience on how she and a her friend experience a modus wherein criminals slash the tire of her car.

"NEW MODUS OPERANDI ON THE ROAD
Sharing to warn my friends and everyone who usually drives at night
Two nights ago (technically it was past 1 AM of Aug. 17), my friend and I came from a late night dinner with our other friends and had to pick up my car in front of Red Planet in Timog to go home. 

As we reached and stopped on red light at Timog-West Ave. intersection, we were still too very busy chatting and catching up with each other when I noticed a black dusty (almost beat up) car beside us with their both windows rolled down, and the driver staring heavily at us. 

I stared back mindlessly and kept on chatting with my friend until I realized how scary he looked and told my friend about it. The green light came on and as I drove to Q. Ave, I suddenly noticed something was awfully wrong with the car. I was driving at 80-90 kph and it felt wobbly, noisy, almost challenging to control the steering wheel. It was Q. Ave and cars really go fast so I couldn’t just suddenly stop. There was also a car behind tailgating us, shifting his lights to bright that I didn’t mind because I took it as he just wanted to overtake. 

I slowed down gradually and by the time we reached Araneta underpass, I considered stopping only to realize it would be futile so we proceeded to the nearest gas station instead. We found Unioil and when we got off the car, I found one of the tires with multiple stabs. To be honest, I wasn’t really bothered initially as I thought it was just one of my unlucky days and some crazy man passed by while it was parked and took his insanity out on the tire (in short, napag-tripan lang). So I had a good friend came to our rescue, brought tools, and helped changed the tire.  

At around 3 AM, we were able to go home safe. I showed the same photo to my friend whom after linked me to a wheninmanila article about a modus operandi in the south (http://bit.ly/1NBZqQ4). In the post, the girl's tire was also slashed at a stoplight which appeared similar to mine. It didn’t sink in right away then I realized, we almost got victimized. 

It was the black car with the creepy men inside who slashed off the tire while we were at the stoplight, baiting us to get off the car in a dark alley and who knows what they’d do next. 

It’s just messed up how we get to this point, you don’t completely feel safe in your own home (na-akyat bahay na din kami once), in your own car, or anywhere else for that matter. But yeah, venting aside, I hope this incident makes everyone aware that these ill-willed people are becoming more creative, resourceful, and won’t even care if their victims lose their lives had they gotten into an accident."