Montreal, Quebec – Montreal activist organization, “SOS SUVs” has claimed responsibility for disarming 25 SUVs in Outremont and Ville Mont-Royal, deflating their tires to protest against vehicles they say are “a disaster for our health, our public safety and our climate.”
This attack is one of the many on Sep. 7, where activists affiliated with the Tyre Extinguishers group deflated 600 SUVs worldwide, including Germany, Switzerland and the Czech Republic. The group claims to have deflated 9,000 SUVs since March, part of their mission to “make it impossible to own a huge polluting 4×4 in the world’s urban areas.”
While ‘direct action’ remains a controversial method among activists, criticism against SUVs predates the group’s existence. Multiple, verified studies by groups including the International Energy Agency suggest that SUVs consume 20 percent more energy than their smaller counterparts during collisions.
It’s not just the environment in danger though – the NHTSA and IIHS found that SUVs were more likely to run pedestrians over, while smaller vehicles would send them flying instead–neither option is ideal. Still, the SUV is two to three times more likely to kill pedestrians.
Similarly, the Journal of Safety Research found that SUVs were involved in 16.9 percent of all collisions but responsible for 40 percent of fatalities involving children. Passenger cars were involved in 62 percent of all crashes but contributed 19 percent of fatalities.
While the data does suggest that SUVs are more damaging to the environment and more lethal to those around you, Collision Repair Magazine does not condone destroying the tires of would-be voters.
