It can be very disturbing to find out, upon leaving your home, that your car’s tires have been slashed and completely deflated.
So in case you’ve found yourself in this situation or hope to prevent this from happening, don’t worry! Here is everything I’ve found out about slashed tires through my research!
Why Did My Tires Get Slashed?
Slashed tires are typically done as a random act of vandalism or by someone who might have a grudge against you. Vehicle owners with slashed tires should file a report with the police and use security measures like CCTV cameras and watchdogs for prevention. Note that slashing tires is legally classified as a misdemeanor.
If you want to learn more about why people slash tires, whether you can go to jail for slashing tires, and much more, keep on reading!
What Can You Do If Someone Slashed Your Tires?
If you have recently discovered that your vehicle’s tires have been slashed, there are several things that you must do without wasting time.
First, you should contact the local police and file an initial report about the incident within 24 hours, providing details such as the time and location.
After that, you should inform your insurance company about this, providing details of the police report for reference since slashed tires can be costly to fix or replace.
If you live in a neighborhood or if the incident happened during the day when people are around, you should check if there are any witnesses of the incident, and get their contact information.
All of this will help you in catching the culprit and pressing criminal charges against them, or at least making a strong case for you to get this damage covered by your insurance.
Why Do People Slash Tires?
There can be several reasons behind why your tires were slashed.
As it is in most cases, it could be an act of revenge from someone who has a personal grudge against you since it causes frustration to the vehicle owner and leaves almost no trails.
Other than that, it could also be an act of vandalism, in which case, other people in your neighborhood will also have suffered damage to their possessions.
Keep in mind that there may be situations in which you might have to slash your vehicle’s tires yourself as a critical safety measure, e.g. to prevent an over-inflated tire from bursting.
Can You Go To Jail For Slashing Tires?
Slashing tires is considered a misdemeanor that can lead to various levels of punishment, depending on the value of the tires that were damaged.
If the tires cost between $500 and $1,000, then the act will be classified as a Class A misdemeanor.
The person convicted for a Class A misdemeanor will have to pay a $500 fine and may also have to spend up to 12 months in jail.
For tires that are valued below $500, slashing tires is counted as a Class B misdemeanor that carries a fine of $250 and may land the offender in jail for up to 90 days.
Keep in mind that aside from these charges, the person who slashed the tires may also have to pay restitution and cover the entire cost of replacing the tires.
Can You Drive A Car With Slashed Tires?
Unfortunately, you cannot drive a car with slashed tires since the tires will not have any pressure in them to support the weight of the vehicle.
Additionally, you should avoid sitting inside the car since doing so might damage the suspension and other internal components that help support the weight of the vehicle.
Does Slashing Tires Make A Sound?
Slashing a pressurized tire will produce a typical ‘psshhh’ sound, caused by air rapidly leaking out of the tire at high pressure.
This can sometimes be helpful, e.g. you can react quickly to catch the culprit if you hear this sound coming from your driveway or parking space.
Does Insurance Cover Slashed Tires?
Whether your insurance will cover the tire repair or replacement costs depends on the type of insurance you have, since most policies do not cover tire replacement.
If you bought a basic insurance policy for your vehicle, it will only cover damage inflicted due to accidents with other vehicles, i.e. it will not cover the cost of replacing slashed tires.
Similarly, if your policy includes collision coverage, you will only be able to claim insurance if your tires were slashed because you accidentally drove on road spikes or other sharp objects.
You will need to have additional forms of coverage (such as for non-driving accidents) to make insurance claims for acts of vandalism like slashed tires.
How Do You Stop Your Tires From Being Slashed?
The following useful security measures and strategies can help deter vandals or individuals seeking revenge from slashing your tires.
Park in safe, well-lit spots
It is a lot easier for vandals to slash your car’s tires if it is parked in a dark place where there are no other vehicles or people in sight.
So if you’re parking away from your home for the night, make sure you find a spot with sufficient lighting and (if possible) a security guard.
Use a motion-sensing alarm
Install an alarm in your car that triggers whenever motion is detected close to your vehicle or someone lightly touches your car when it is locked.
This will either scare the culprit away or give you enough of a headstart to catch or identify them.
Install CCTV cameras
CCTV cameras monitoring your car’s parking space will record video evidence of the incident taking place, and may even directly identify the culprit.
This will be incredibly useful when you’re pressing charges and will help you in getting full restitution from the offender to cover the damages.
Along with that, the sight of CCTV cameras can also be sometimes enough to deter vandals.
Keep guard dogs on watch
Watchdogs will start barking if they notice someone approaching your vehicle late at night, or even chase the culprit away.
Drive carefully and avoid objects
Accidentally driving over sharp objects such as broken glass or metal is a common reason for slashed tires.
Driving carefully and vigilantly will help you maneuver away from such objects on the road and save your tires from getting slashed.
How Do You Slash Tires Fast?
Although this happens rarely, you may sometimes need to slash your own tires to prevent them from blowing in case they are overheated and/or over-inflated.
You should use a sharp knife (not the one you use in your kitchen) and make a swift cut through the tire’s surface with a good amount of force.
Depending on how good of a cut you’ve made, the tires should deflate within a few seconds.
Keep in mind that while slashing the tire, you should turn your face away from the point of contact with the knife since the air will rush out fast and may injure your face.
To know more about tires, you might also be interested in reading up on sidewall tire damage, how common are flat tires, and why are tires made of rubber.
Conclusion: Slashed Tires
Tires are considered ‘slashed’ when they have been cut deeply with a sharp object which deflates the tire completely and in most cases necessitates replacement.
If your tires have been slashed, you should file a report with the police within 24 hours, look for witnesses, and contact your insurance company.
Slashing tires is classified as a Class A or Class B misdemeanor (depending on the value of the damage) and can lead to hefty fines and a short jail sentence.