A marginalized group is now calling on Australians to deflate SUV tires as part of a climate action protest.
As it turns out, anyone caught doing it in Victoria faces a pretty hefty penalty. According to article 70 of Road Safety Act 1986 In Victoria, it is a crime if a person, without good cause, tampering with or tampering with a motor vehicle owned by any other person.
Examples of this as defined by a Melbourne-based professional criminal attorney include deflated one’s car tire without consent, tampering with one’s car’s brakes person without consent and tampering with the lock on one’s car without consent.
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, which means this attack has a maximum penalty of $369.84.
The fine is set to $192.31 as of July 1 of this year, meaning this attack will soon result in a maximum fine of $384.62.
In addition, if the person holds a driver’s license or learner’s permit, the Victorian Courts may revoke or disallow the person to obtain the license for a period not exceeding four years.
EQUAL previous reportTire Extinguishers, which originated in Europe last year, are a “leaderless, autonomous movement group” that deflate tires on “large and unnecessary vehicles” to inconvenience their owners. they.
The fringe group often posts photos of deflated SUVs on Twitter. It has a step-by-step guide on its website, as well as a flyer that can be printed out and left on the victim’s vehicle.
Tire Extinguishers recently called in saying they needed people in Melbourne and wanted to “start the party there”.
This particular statement was in response to a Twitter user posting a photo of a Ram 1500 pickup protruding from a parking space into a bike lane.
When approached by news.com.auTire Extinguishers said the group had faced “no legal issues”, and then Australia was their “next big target”.
“It’s very unlikely to be caught doing this, unless SUV owners will stay up all night, every night to protect their vehicle in case we show up,” said a company spokesperson. . news.com.au.
“If someone is arrested, there will be a debate about whether what we are doing is against the law. In the UK, the police force has mixed opinions about whether it is a crime to leave air in a tire.
“It may not even meet the criminal damage threshold.”
