top of page
Search

Load-Shedding Fender Benders: Why Power Cuts Spike Accidents – and How We Get You Back on the Road Fast

  • MC Bosch
  • 24 minutes ago
  • 2 min read

“Robots are out, traffic’s a mess, and suddenly bam – your bakkie’s rear quarter panel looks like a crumpled tin can.”Sound familiar? You’re not alone.


South Africans clock over 1 700 traffic-signal failures every day during Stage-4 load shedding – turning intersections into chaos zones. A Gauteng study shows 31 % of robots fail on an average day, climbing past 50 % during heavy outages. No surprise crash numbers jump any time Eskom flips the switch.


Why load shedding = more accidents


  • Dead robots & right-of-way confusion – congestion balloons, gaps disappear, impatience grows.

  • Unofficial “pointsmen” & vandalised lights – some intersections are sabotaged for quick tips, turning chaos into catastrophe.

  • Driver fatigue – longer, stop-start commutes drain concentration.


Damage we fix every outage cycle

Damage

Typical cause

Our fix

Bumper & grille cracks

Low-speed shunts in bumper-to-bumper queues

OEM bumper replacement + PPG colour-match respray

Rear quarter dents

Taxi taps while jockeying through dark robots

Same-day Paintless Dent Repair (PDR) where possible

Wheel-arch & rim scrapes

Squeezing past stalled lanes

Rim straightening + respray

Headlight & sensor hits

Intersection T-bones

Genuine part sourcing + calibrated fitment

(Quotes generated with Audatex for total transparency.)


Fender-bender during load shedding? Do this:


  1. Treat the dark intersection as a four-way stop.

  2. Snap clear photos of the scene and damage.

  3. Email us at claims@hjbosch-sons.co.za with the pics and your policy details.

  4. On-the-Go Assessment: Our techs come to you anywhere in Pretoria and return a written estimate within 24 h.

  5. Authorise & relax – we handle the insurer admin while you get SMS status updates.


Why insurers and brokers keep sending cars our way


  • SAMBRA-accredited across Pretoria.

  • Lifetime paintwork guarantee via PPG Refinish.

  • Group average 90 %+ Lightstone KAI score for customer satisfaction.


Drive smarter when the lights go out


  • Approach any dark robot at < 30 km/h.

  • Maintain a two-second gap (stopping distances double in bumper-to-bumper).

  • Fit bright LED daytime running lights to stay visible when street lights die.


Where to find us

Branch

Address

1008 Kruger Avenue, Lyttelton Manor, Pretoria, 0157

618 Nico Smith St, Gezina, Pretoria, 0084

353 Van Der Hoff Road, Hercules, Pretoria, 0030

12 William Hoyt Street, Rosslyn, Pretoria, 0200

19 Battery St, Waltloo, Pretoria, 0184

Need a quote right now?


👉 Drop us an email at claims@hjbosch-sons.co.za—we’ll sort the rest.

 
 
 

Comments


bottom of page