Slovenian Police reports there have been fewer thefts and robberies on Slovenian motorways this summer than in the past years, but it’s always wise to be on the lookout. Especially as those with sticky fingers are mostly members of actual criminal organisations, which do not lack resourcefulness.

The most common scenario is actually very simple. You’re driving towards the sea, the children in the car are getting restless, you stop at the first resting area you can find, stretch a little on the grass, the spouse runs into the shop to buy refreshments, you leave the car unlocked. Even though you think you’ve been keeping an eye on it, you realise your wallet has gone missing when you want to pay for the ferry, narrates Katarina Braniselj for TV Slovenija.

Aleš Kegljevič from the police crime unit warns: "Sometimes we could even say that the opportunity offers itself to the perpetrators, prompting them to execute a crime." In most cases, however, thieves are well-organised. "One or more perpetrators distract the drivers while the others perform either a break-in or ordinary theft, but we’ve also seen cases where organised groups tried to stop a vehicle on the motorway," explains Kegljevič.

This, of course, takes place under pretence of needing help, at least if you are not the one in need of help. Namely, these organised groups frequently operated by putting nails under the tyres. "Thieves then came to offer help, when in fact they came to steal, there were also fights, as they liked to scuffles, they ran across the motorway, several people were injured," remembers Mile Dejanović, head at the Podtabor branch of the Slovenian Motorway Company (DARS).

26 special boards, located all across Slovenia’s motorway system, provide advice as well as caution drivers against this danger. The first board had been placed on the north-western stretch of the system a few years ago.

G. K., MMC; translated by K. Z.