Cape Town - No security measure can deter the wiper swipers who have been stealing the windscreen wipers off parked cars in the city.
Windshield wipers are the latest item on the shopping list of thieves on the prowl for accessories such as hubcaps, brand-name badges and even petrol caps.
One complaint on a Western Cape traffic Facebook community page drew immediate commiseration from others who had been left out in the rain without their wipers.
Naeem Logday said wiper theft was a daily occurrence outside his parents’ business in Mitchells Plain.
“At least 20 pairs of our wipers have been stolen over the past two years. Now we drive with them off and just put them on when it’s about to rain. It’s such a mission but what else can a person do?”
The price to replace a wiper arm was R400, said Claudette Randall, whose back wiper was stolen outside her home in Wynberg.
Aqeelah Hendricks and her family didn’t hear a thing when wipers were swiped off their car parked outside their house.
“They stole our wipers more than six times in one year. Then my dad super-glued his wipers on and they haven’t gone missing after that.”
City Centre Improvement District safety and security manager Muneeb Hendricks said they suspected the parts were being sold at taxi ranks.
Cape Argus