“are you okay now?”

Many SUVs have flat tires in the morning. A well-known phenomenon: “tyre extinguishers” used to spoil at night. The movement has been around for about a year and a half with about 100 groups in Europe and the USA.

Even the upscale Höttingen district of Zurich was not spared from compressed air fans. The SRF meets with some activists before they put what they want into practice: allowing off-road and SUV tires to deflate.

It’s legitimate for them to act this way, defending a fan. “We are doing this because politics has failed,” she said on the SRF’s “Rundschau” programme.

The tire extinguishers confirm that they did not harm the cars, but merely expelled the air from the tires. You need to act as follows: the valve is installed and a lens is put on the hole. If the valve cover is then closed, the lens presses on the valve and the air escapes.

The group places flyers on the windshields of cars. “Caution – Your Fuel Economy is Deadly,” reads the headline on the flyer.

The message continues: “You will get angry, but don’t take it personally.” It’s not theirs, it’s their car. “We did this because driving in urban areas with a large vehicle has serious consequences for others.”

After the campaign, the Tire Extinguishers took stock of the situation: that night, they aired 50 four-wheel drive vehicles in Höttingen. An SRF photographer asks the group: “Are you okay now that you’ve ventilated the cars?”

“Yes, to be honest, I feel better,” one perpetrator replied.

There is great anger among the population. Teacher Peter Kunzler cannot go to school the next morning because of the crime. “I can’t do my job. “Students don’t have lessons,” he says.

These measures would cause “economic damage.” Kunzler even filed a complaint. “I expect the police will do something,” the teacher said.

How does the activist environment react? Only a few will know. “But everyone who knows about it thinks it’s great. They also want to join, but they’re afraid.”