Is letting down a tyre...
Discussion
...a criminal offence.
Some b*stard let down one of my tyres. No damage that I've noticed. (Although I reckon in might have affected the balance)
The m*ron who did it admitted to it. [1]
Now I have no intention of getting the rozzers involved (despite the evidence of scamera vans I suspect they do have better things to be doing) however it would be nice to know where I stood if I did want to be beligerant about it.
[1] Over a girl. [2]
[2] I don't f**kig want her. If he didn't do weird things like letting down tyres she'd be with him and I'd be off the hook. W*nker.
>>> Edited by toad_oftoadhall on Thursday 10th July 12:39
Some b*stard let down one of my tyres. No damage that I've noticed. (Although I reckon in might have affected the balance)
The m*ron who did it admitted to it. [1]
Now I have no intention of getting the rozzers involved (despite the evidence of scamera vans I suspect they do have better things to be doing) however it would be nice to know where I stood if I did want to be beligerant about it.
[1] Over a girl. [2]
[2] I don't f**kig want her. If he didn't do weird things like letting down tyres she'd be with him and I'd be off the hook. W*nker.
>>> Edited by toad_oftoadhall on Thursday 10th July 12:39
I s'pose it depends on how you let it down. With a compressor set on 'deflate' it probly wouldn't be an issue...with a two pound block of Semtex, someone might object...
[serious mode]
s25(b) RTA 1988 states that a person is guilty of an offence if, while the motor vehicle is on a public road or parking place provided by a local authority, he 'tampers with the brake or other part of it's mechanism'. You could probably make a good case for the integrity of the tyre to be considered part of the mechanism of the brake...but not certain. There's probably a case law for this somewhere but bobthebench or a resident
will be able to comment further, should they so desire 
[serious mode]
s25(b) RTA 1988 states that a person is guilty of an offence if, while the motor vehicle is on a public road or parking place provided by a local authority, he 'tampers with the brake or other part of it's mechanism'. You could probably make a good case for the integrity of the tyre to be considered part of the mechanism of the brake...but not certain. There's probably a case law for this somewhere but bobthebench or a resident
will be able to comment further, should they so desire 
toad_oftoadhall said:
Would the police *really* take an interest in something like this?
Hahahahahahahahahahahaha. ROTFL. Hard enough to persuade them to investigate (incorrectly thought to be) intentional damage to a vehicle when there were 20 witnesses. No offense intended to the BiBs, I am sure (hope) you have better things to be doing.
toad_oftoadhall said:
Criminal Damage if the tyres are let down intentionally.....at the very least!
Would the police *really* take an interest in something like this?
(Hypothetically - I'm not fussed.)
If you're caught by the BiB, driving a vehicle with incorrectly inflated tyres you can be prosecuted. It is dangerous, can lead to blow outs, and loss of control particularly during cornering and/or braking.
So if you deliberately do this to someone elses car, surely it must constitute an offence IMHO.
tonyrec said:
Criminal Damage if the tyres are let down intentionally.....at the very least!
What damage was there?
If they slashed the tyre then sure, but letting the air out simply changes the volume of air in the tyre.
Would it be criminal damage to pump up someone's tyre if it looked a little low
m-five said:
Criminal Damage if the tyres are let down intentionally.....at the very least!
What damage was there?
If they slashed the tyre then sure, but letting the air out simply changes the volume of air in the tyre.
Would it be criminal damage to pump up someone's tyre if it looked a little low
It's criminal damage to deny someone the use of something. This is the clause that makes putting abin liner over a speed camera illegal.
toad_oftoadhall said:
It's criminal damage to deny someone the use of something.
Letting the air down would not be denying someone the use as they can still use the car, albeit not safely!
So when my brother won't let me use his wife for the weekend - is that criminal damage?
How about removing the bullets from someone's gun - is that criminal damage as well?
I agree with Tonyrec. I think it's some form of criminal mischief/vandalism in U.S. (even if it isn't permanent). I can't believe someone could get away with tampering with someone else's car. Seems sort of like trespassing. Letting down the tires (one or all) may not permenantly damage, but as mentioned earlier, does make the car less safe. How about reckless endangerment then? He knows what he's doing, and unless you walk a lap around your car to check tires every time you park somewhere, you may not notice what that guys done in time to just be inconvenienced. You could have discovered the tampering while driving instead of before you got in the car. Suppose he had let it down only part way and you drove it anyway, then at high speed you would have certainly noticed the difference in handling. Suppose you drove a minivan with only front wheel drive, like no one else on this site but me, and he did one of the front wheels. It could have been serious. Especially if I were 90 years old driving in the rain and didn't notice steerage until there was an accident.
Here's a scary thing that happened to my sister: someone must have been in trying to steal one of her hubcaps and got scared off in the process. As a result, she didn't notice that the lugnuts on one of her tires were loose until she got home: one of them had fallen off! No permanent damage to the car, but it could have been serious if they were loose enough to come off while she was driving. We assume it was someone just trying to steal something and not actually set about to do her injury, as we couldn't think of anyone who would have it in for her.
I'd keep a record of crap he does and witnesses, as he's probably done this before and will again.
Years ago, my brother caught someone letting the air out of his tires for talking to his girlfriend (he didn't know she was with a date), so he tapped the guy on the shoulder and right as he turns around, punched him in the head. The scrote was on the ground, and a female cop arrested them both. They both got off with warnings, as it was eye for an eye. They let the other guy leave the station first (wisely) so that my brother wouldn't be waiting outside for him.
Sorry this was so long.
>> Edited by seafarer on Saturday 12th July 22:26
Here's a scary thing that happened to my sister: someone must have been in trying to steal one of her hubcaps and got scared off in the process. As a result, she didn't notice that the lugnuts on one of her tires were loose until she got home: one of them had fallen off! No permanent damage to the car, but it could have been serious if they were loose enough to come off while she was driving. We assume it was someone just trying to steal something and not actually set about to do her injury, as we couldn't think of anyone who would have it in for her.
I'd keep a record of crap he does and witnesses, as he's probably done this before and will again.
Years ago, my brother caught someone letting the air out of his tires for talking to his girlfriend (he didn't know she was with a date), so he tapped the guy on the shoulder and right as he turns around, punched him in the head. The scrote was on the ground, and a female cop arrested them both. They both got off with warnings, as it was eye for an eye. They let the other guy leave the station first (wisely) so that my brother wouldn't be waiting outside for him.
Sorry this was so long.
>> Edited by seafarer on Saturday 12th July 22:26
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