Thursday 21 May 2009

More SUV tyre-deflating in South Manchester

Most of what you read in the newspaper is just
regurgitated press releases.
MCFly is taking the process to its logical
end-point by simply reprinting this, which
appeared in our in-box today...

"Manchester activists deflate SUV tyres


"A group of concerned Manchester residents deflated the tyres of a number of
Sports Utility Vehicles (SUV's) last night to protest their contribution to
climate change, oil consumption and road traffic accidents. Around 80
vehicles in the Chorlton area were targetted. The tyres were let down and
not slashed, this was done without any damage to the tyres.

"Given the threat of climate change and the governments inaction in dealing
with it, the group say that direct action such as this is, unfortunately,
necessary. Large SUV's contribution to climate change is more than the
average car as they emit substantially more greenhouse gases. These large
vehicles also have higher consumption and therefore require more oil: a
finite resource which many conflicts are required to secure access to.

"This issue is not just about climate change and world conflicts, SUV's are a
serious safety hazard. Road traffic statistics have shown that in car
collisions involving SUV's, people in the other car are 6 times more likely
to die than if they had collided with an average car, and furthermore SUV's
are twice as likely to be fatal in collisions with pedestrians.

"James, a member of the group, said, “These vehicles are totally unsuitable
for the city, they're dangerous, polluting and an unnecessary status symbol.
They should not be on our city roads.”

"Large SUVs are a symbol of excessive consumerism and due to a wide range of
issues, driving one in urban areas constitutes anti-social behaviour to
which we are all vulnerable."

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