Swisdom said:

Dickheads

there are loads of reasons people have larger vehicles nowadays and their emissions and fuel consumption are not a great deal Different to some cars.  

seth plum said:

Jints said:

seth plum said:

I suppose types of direct action increases when the social contract amongst people is diminished, or destroyed.
The cohesion of British society has been steadily deteriorating since around 1979 and the great lurch forward was cemented in in 2016 and 2019.
I feel those in power will become increasingly draconian in order to shape things to their ends.
Hopefully they won’t manage it long term because as Orwell said ‘no bomb that ever burst can shatter the crystal spirit’.
In the meantime we are condemned to suffer the pain of division.
I suppose in a divided society there is little to lose by doubling down and becoming entrenched.
Speaking personally, judging by what some fellow Addicks post on here, there are people and attitudes out there that I could never ever reconcile to.
Direct action is something that manifests division and it may be all there is left to do in the eyes of an increasing number of people.

I don't agree. The 1970s were very divided - lots of strikes, very bad racism, lots of vadalism. Things improved a lot in the 1990s but appear to be on a downward spiral at the moment fuelled by social media. No reason to anticipate it won't turn again - throughout history chesion as ebbed and flowed. 

Yes you have a point regarding the seventies.
I suppose I might (mistakenly?) see those times as more about majority verses minority rather than the type of divided society we have now.
What do you think might restore cohesion in the future?

seth plum said:

cafcfan said:

seth plum said:

thenewbie said:

seth plum said:

On a technical point, what law does letting down tyres of a stationary or parked vehicle break?

No one specific law apparently but several different charges can be laid against those who do it, i.e. Criminal damage or something called "the road traffic act 1988" : "A person is guilty of an offence if he intentionally and without lawful authority or reasonable cause ... interferes with a motor vehicle, trailer or cycle."

Field day for lawyers.
Criminal damage is going to be hard to establish, especially if there is a sympathetic jury.
Reasonable cause is another concept to throw at a jury.
I imagine there have been circumstances (possibly on private land as well) where the driver of a clamped car has let down the tyre to remove the clamp.
I don’t know if that is or isn’t an offence. Indeed if the protestors clamped the vehicles instead of letting down the tyre would that be an offence?
People get clamped in dubious circumstances all the time, would clampers generally be classed as law breakers?
I believe one aspect of theft is ‘intent to permanently deprive’, so if a clamper, or ‘air stealer’ says they will return some unspecified time in the future to pump up the tyres, or remove a clamp when they deem it to be convenient for them, are they still criminal when they argue it is a temporary measure?

You are way out of date, mate. Clamping on private land became illegal ten years ago. In any event, letting down your own tyres is perfectly legal. What isn't is damaging a wheel clamp by, for example, taking an angle grinder to it or using a bolt cutter to remove any padlock*. As that would be criminal damage. (But there wouldn't be a "sympathetic jury" or any jury for that matter - it would go before a Magistrate).

In any event the Govt. especially the local Govt in London, is responsible for the popularity of SUVs. There is no other way to comfortably traverse a speed bump around Charlton and Greenwich. I used to drive small low cars but the speed bumps are often capable of taking the bottom out of the oil sump, so I've gone large. 

BTW, many road humps in the RBG are illegal in that they do not comply with The Highways (Road Humps) Regulations 1999.

*Many padlocks - no matter how expensive - can be easily removed with nothing more than a drink can and a pair of scissors without causing damage to the padlock. Look it up on YouTube. 

Edited to add: there are also "anti-theft" dust caps which are difficult to remove unless your average eco-warrior has a little "going equipped" kit; might be time to invest in some.

Thank you for this thorough reply.
In terms of the humps in the road I take them slowly in my old Fiesta and no damage so far.

Wheresmeticket? said:

Chippycafc said:

Bloody arseholes, i have never understood why there is such support for criminals by some (same) quarters on this forum, perhaps when something like this effects them they may have a different view.

"Such support".  You mean a handful of people who suggest that there may be other responses than the "I hope I catch them at it I'd give them what for" type of response that always crops up when things like this get raised?  I thought the posts by Seth, KingK and Muttley contained clear and reasonable arguments.  

Chippycafc said:

Wheresmeticket? said:

Chippycafc said:

Bloody arseholes, i have never understood why there is such support for criminals by some (same) quarters on this forum, perhaps when something like this effects them they may have a different view.

"Such support".  You mean a handful of people who suggest that there may be other responses than the "I hope I catch them at it I'd give them what for" type of response that always crops up when things like this get raised?  I thought the posts by Seth, KingK and Muttley contained clear and reasonable arguments.  

Yes, bizarre behaviour to stick up for criminals, no wonder this country is just a soft touch. Bang em up for 10 years, they wont do it again, and bang the sympathizers up with them for the same period.

arny23394 said:

Happening down here in Brighton & Hove as well. They’ve even been doing it to electric vehicles so the ‘gas guzzling’ argument doesn’t really work. Wankers.

Gribbo said:

JamesSeed said:

SDAddick said:

I'm perhaps more in favor of direct action than some (I also think there's a bit of an American/UK cultural divide to some extent). But this just reeks of "we've run out of good ideas."

I'm not an organizer or activist, but from my experience, direct action tends to be most successful when it has a concrete and potentially achievable goal. Bree Newsome taking down the Confederate Flag from the South Carolina State House is a great example. 

But this doesn't really achieve much, and it achieves nothing when compared to the immensities of Climate Change, apart from just inconvenience people. 

I think the aim of these sort of actions tends to be to get publicity, and I suspect it’ll be successful in doing that. Here we are, for one thing. 

That was the argument for them glueing themselves to the roads too.

Has that had any sign of on impact on anything btw? Has anyone rushed out to get their homes surveyed, or has it even started more of a wider debate? 

seth plum said:

I have solid Tannus tyres on my old and now seldom used bicycle.

Chippycafc said:

Wheresmeticket? said:

Chippycafc said:

Bloody arseholes, i have never understood why there is such support for criminals by some (same) quarters on this forum, perhaps when something like this effects them they may have a different view.

"Such support".  You mean a handful of people who suggest that there may be other responses than the "I hope I catch them at it I'd give them what for" type of response that always crops up when things like this get raised?  I thought the posts by Seth, KingK and Muttley contained clear and reasonable arguments.  

Yes, bizarre behaviour to stick up for criminals, no wonder this country is just a soft touch. Bang em up for 10 years, they wont do it again, and bang the sympathizers up with them for the same period.