A fringe group is now calling on Australians to deflate SUV tires as part of a climate action protest.
As it turns out, anyone caught doing that in Victoria faces pretty heavy penalties. According to section 70 Road Safety Act 1986 in Victoria, if a person who, without cause or just cause, molests or interferes with a motor vehicle belonging to any other person commits an offence.
Examples of this as defined by the Melbourne-based practice of specialist criminal lawyers include deflating someone’s car tires without permission, tampering with the brakes on someone’s car without permission and tampering with someone’s car keys without permission.
The maximum penalty for this offense in Victoria is two penalty units or imprisonment for 14 days. The current penalty unit rate is $184.92, meaning this attack carries a maximum fine of $369.84.
The penalty rate is set to increase to $192.31 from July 1 this year, meaning these attacks will soon carry a maximum fine of $384.62.
In addition, if the person holds a driver’s license or learner’s permit, the Victorian Court may revoke or disqualify the person from obtaining it for a period not exceeding four years.
As previously reported, Tire Deflators, which originated in Europe last year, is a “leaderless and autonomous group movement” that deflates tires on “large and unnecessary vehicles” to cause inconvenience to their owners.
Fringe groups regularly post pictures of SUVs with flat tires on Twitter. It has a step-by-step guide on its website, as well as a leaflet that can be printed and left on the victim’s vehicle.
The Tire Extinguishers recently put out a call saying it needed people in Melbourne and wanted to “get the party started there”.
This particular statement was in response to a Twitter user who posted a picture of a Ram 1500 pickup jutting out of a parking lot into a bike lane.
When approached by news.com.auThe Tire Eraser said the group had faced “no legal issues”, and then Australia was the “next big target”.
“It’s very difficult to get caught doing this, unless the owner of the SUV will be up all night, every night defending their vehicle in case we show up,” a spokesperson told news.com.au.
“If someone is arrested, there is a debate about whether what we are doing is illegal. In the UK, police forces are split on whether letting air out of tires is a crime.
“It may not meet the threshold for criminal damage.”