A paramedic and an environmental sciences student are behind the deflation of tyres on more than 100 SUVs in Dundee, it has emerged.
The eco-vandals, who form the local branch of climate group Tyre Extinguishers, agreed to answer a series of questions from The Courier – though refused to reveal their full identities.
Since May, the team of two have used 3D-printed valve caps or lentils to deflate the tyres on 125 vehicles in Broughty Ferry and City Quay – actions branded “reckless” and “potentially dangerous” by the police.
The activity is part of their ongoing campaign against SUVs, which they say cause “unnecessary and dangerous luxury emissions”.
Here are the questions we put to the duo – named the Dundeeflators – and their answers, in full.
Tell us a bit about Dundeeflators including how many members you have, their ages and their occupations.
Our group is currently composed of two friends with a common interest in reducing the prevalence of oversized vehicles in our communities.
One of us is a paramedic, the other an environmental sciences student. We are both in our mid to late 20s.
Our paramedic has seen first hand the amount of damage a two-tonne block of metal with a Range Rover badge can do to a pedestrian.
Will you reveal the identities of your members and your leader? If not, why?
No.
As much as we admire the overtly public nature of other protestors’ methods this year, the nature of our protest wouldn’t benefit from our identities being shared.
Why are members of the groups hiding their identities if they care so much about the cause?
We do not think this particular form of protest would benefit from our identities being public.
We do other ‘conventional’ work to further our cause that certainly does not require anonymity.
These include interacting with the local council, environmental groups and volunteering with Sustrans Scotland for example.
There are many avenues to change. Direct protest is just one of them.
What methods of transport do Dundee Tyre Extinguishers use to carry out their activities?
We’ve seen people on social media speculating we would use a car for these actions, which is rather silly.
Cars are loud, bright, easily identifiable and cannot use the shared paths and shortcuts we use currently.
We use bicycles – quiet, agile, non-identifiable and most importantly, not responsible for five deaths every day on UK roads.
How do you respond to claims you should not be disrupting the lives of ordinary people and instead should be targeting decision-makers at local and national level?
Trust us, if there was was a list of where local decision makers parked their massive SUVs, if they even have one, we’d be the first to ask for it.
In absence of that however, the main problem of an abundance of inappropriately sized SUVs in urban spaces is caused by ordinary people buying them.
Governments at all levels have a role to play in reducing car dependency in general but a person that decides they need a Range Rover to navigate the City Quay is a perfectly valid target for disruption.
SUVs are much more likely to kill compared to normal cars when striking pedestrians.
Psychological studies have shown SUV drivers take more risks, putting other road users and pedestrians in danger.
Even SUV drivers and passengers are more likely to die in accidents.
NEW: 'DunDeeFlators' strike in the Broughty Ferry area of Dundee, Scotland, making 20 SUVs safe.
Removing valve caps to stop us won't work. The DundeeFlators used a 3D-printed valve cap (see picture) when they came across death machines without valve caps.
The work goes on! pic.twitter.com/S6IXBFX14Q
— The Tyre Extinguishers (@T_Extinguishers) August 24, 2022
How do you justify leaving people who rely on their vehicles for work, or for helping elderly/disabled loved ones attend appointments, with no way of getting around?
We do not believe a Range Rover or a BMW X5 is a necessary vehicle for ferrying an able-bodied person to a job or a disabled person to an appointment.
Both of these can be achieved perfectly well with a reasonably sized vehicle like a hatchback or a modified vehicle like a Ford Tourneo.
A deflated tyre is a minor inconvenience that can be remedied within a few minutes.
No damage is done to the tyre from our action.
This is why we also call for greater investment in public transport and active travel routes, so that people are not dependant on cars to live their lives, let alone oversized SUVs.
It’s also important to note that we do not target marked work vehicles or any vehicle with a blue badge or mobility modifications.
Here is a good example of how active travel infrastructure is good for those with mobility problems.
How many cars have you targeted in Dundee so far?
125.
How do you deflate SUV tyres?
In most cases, we simply unscrew the valve cap, slip a few lentils into it and screw it back on. The lentils push against the valve and let the air out slowly.
In cases where this doesn’t work, or the SUV has no caps, we screw on our printed tool that uses an internal pin to depress the valve.
Why are you targeting Broughty Ferry and City Quay specifically?
These are dense areas heavily connected with trains, buses, taxis and active travel routes.
The most action these vehicles are going to see are the handful of speed bumps on the Esplanade or South Victoria Dock Road.
They are absolutely the last place any person would need an SUV.
How long will you continue to do this for?
We will continue until there is a commitment from the UK Government to a form of plan that will reduce the number of SUVs in our communities and provide further investment in public transport and active travel routes.
Something as small as rejecting new parking permits for SUVs would be a good start.
The Tyre Extinguishers have been active since March and if the recent global nights of action are anything to go by, the movement against dangerous SUVs is still growing.
Where else in Tayside and Fife do you intend on carrying out action?
We are happy continuing working in Dundee, though we encourage the residents of Tayside and Fife to form their own groups in their towns.
We would direct those with an interest to go to our website, print off a few of their own fliers and join in.
How concerned are you that police are actively investigating your actions?
We are not concerned at all.
We have been active since May and in this time dozens of tyre extinguishers have deflated thousands of SUVs with, as far as we can tell, zero arrests.
We know that realistically, we would need to be caught in the act to be caught at all.
What is your ultimate aim?
We want to make it impossible to own a huge polluting 4×4 in urban areas.
We want to live in towns and cities with clean air and safe streets.
Politely asking for these things has failed. That is why we take the action we do.
Police response to Dundeeflators’ activity
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “This is a reckless and potentially dangerous act which could put drivers and road users at risk.
“We fully investigate any report of tyres being deliberately deflated.
“We would encourage members of the public to call us immediately if they see anyone acting suspiciously near to parked vehicles.
“I would also urge all drivers to check their vehicle before setting off and to contact the police on 101 should they suspect their vehicle has been tampered with.”
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