Almost 400 smash-and-grab attacks take place in the greater Durban area every month, according to glass-fitting companies.
However, police say smash-and-grab incidents are decreasing.
Supt Vincent Mdunge, provincial SAPS spokesperson, said police were hearing about such attacks infrequently.
A survey of three well-known glass-fitment companies around Durban said that on average between 10 and 12 motorists were attacked every day.
If one combines the monthly estimates of smash-and-grab clients from National Auto Glass in Durban, Queensburgh and Pinetown; PG Glass in Durban City, Pinetown and Umhlanga; and Glasfit in Umgeni, Pine Street, Pinetown and Mount Edgecombe, it shows that between 323 and 367 incidents, on average, occur every month.
This figure excludes the many other glass-fitting companies around Durban, therefore the actual number of motorists attacked could be even higher.
Some of the attack hotspots in Durban include the N2-M41 intersection coming off the N2 heading to either Mount Edgecombe or Umhlanga; the southern freeway as you approach the Victoria Embankment in the Durban city centre; the intersection of South Coast Road and Grimsby; the N2-Inanda intersection on both sides of the bridge and the traffic lights near the Engen garage in Riverside Road.
A senior crime researcher at the Institute of Security Studies, Dr Johan Burger, said criminals work either in tandem or as lone operators.
"The man who works alone will patrol areas where cars are forced to stop - either at traffic lights or intersections.
The criminals who operate in pairs will pick out potential targets at one set of traffic lights, and call his accomplice ahead, informing him which car to hit."
Burger said motorists should ensure valuables were not visible to potential criminals.
"Put your laptop, handbag or briefcase in the boot or under the seat," said Burger. "If they see nothing in your car - you will not become a target."
Burger said women were particularly guilty of leaving their possessions on their front passenger seats.
Motorists should also be cautious about talking on their cellphones when parked at traffic lights.
"You would be amazed at the number of people who talk on their cells, with the car window open. It's an invitation to criminals. They don't even have to smash - they can just grab and run away!" Burger said.
Managing director of Pro Driving Tactics, Johann von Bargen, said a person's best defence was vigilance.
"You have two windows on each side," he said. "Make sure you watch both of them."
Von Bargen said the Southern freeway off-ramp to Victoria Embankment is a particularly bad place for smash and grabs.
"I often see youngsters loitering around this area," he said. "I know there are no businesses around, so they aren't looking for jobs, and no taxi rank nearby, so they aren't looking for a lift. Why else would they be there? To cause trouble."
Von Bargen stressed that motorists must look out for criminals as they approach the vehicle, not only when they appear at the window. "If you see them early, you have time to take evasive action," he said.
Von Bargen also advised motorists to invest in tinted windows.
Deshnee Reddy of PG Glass in Umhlanga made a good case for spending money on this type of protection.
"Firstly, people must know that when you put the smash-and-grab tint on windows, it doesn't prevent the glass from breaking - but it does hold the glass in place.
"Criminals would then have to dig through the film (called safety lumnar film) to stick their hands in the car."
She said that this type of protection would prevent criminals from stealing valuables inside the car, and also gave a motorist time to take evasive action.
Besides this, the motorist's best method of defence was to conceal all valuables.
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