Proud vandals

Sands End in England is a well manicured, quiet, upscale suburb in London, UK. Which is probably why it was targeted this week by Tyre Extinguishers, whose mission is to free the world from SUVs.

Over twenty luxury car owners awoke one morning this week to find that one or more of their car tires had been deflated overnight. Tyre Extinguishers made no secret of their involvement—they actually left leaflets on the windshields of the targeted cars, explaining their motives.

We have deflated one or more of your tyres,” they wrote. “You’ll be angry, but don’t take it personally. It’s not you. It’s your car. We did this because driving around urban areas in your massive vehicle has consequences for others … SUVs cause more air pollution than smaller cars. SUVs are more likely to kill people than normal cars in collisions.

But we're the good guys …

One Range Rover owner was highly indignant. “I rarely even use my car,” he told the Daily Mail. “Instead I walk, or use my electric bike.” To make it clear why he felt that he had been unfairly targeted, he added that “other cars … may have higher carbon emissions,” and pointed out that he actually owns a renewable natural gas company.

Richard, another victim, who identified himself as a “big climate activist,” also stressed the unfairness of it all. “I only really use the car to go and see my mum, who lives a few hours away in the middle of nowhere,” he said. “Otherwise I walk.”

Tyre Extinguishers have been up to their antics for around two years, operating across Europe and also in the United States. XR (Extinction Rebellion) has praised them among other protest groups, writing that they are “always glad to see new groups joining the work of civil disobedience … to broaden the work for rapid change.”

Safety first? No, it's the environment, stupid

Richard and other SUV owners didn’t seem to object to the idea of rapid change achieved via civil disobedience. They just wanted to be given the opportunity to discuss it first, and make sure the right people were victimized. “The people who did this need education,” Richard said. “We can have a conversation … I’d tell them [what] the real problem with the environment [is] and how puncturing tyres like mine isn’t going to make the slightest bit of difference.”

Tyre Extinguishers’ goal is to “make it impossible to own a SUV in the world’s urban areas”; they want the luxury cars banned and pollution levies imposed on drivers. They support massive government investment in public transportation, to make it completely free for riders.

They also want to reduce the number and impact of road accidents, in which SUVs are implicated in causing more devastating injury than lighter cars. However, none of the deflation victims related to this aspect of their car ownership. Perhaps they felt that their sterling climate credentials are sufficient to attest to their virtue.

Public responses to the Daily Mail’s article reflected this sentiment. ”Anyone who can afford that kind of expensive vehicle could have and should have bought an EV instead,” writes Jonathon Fields of Leicester, UK. “Just because something is legal does not make it morally right and just because letting down tyres is illegal does not make it morally wrong.” [Emphases added.]