History Main / PopTheTires

** ''Film/{{Goldfinger}}''. While driving alongside Tilly Masterson's car, Bond uses one of the Q gadgets in his car to rip open and flatten the tires of Tilly's car, forcing her to stop.

%%* Similarly in ''Film/MadMaxFuryRoad'', where the dual wheels and spiked hubcaps of the War Rig means this tactic is ineffective. However it's a plot point when Furiosa manages to do this to the front left wheel of Nux's car's, hoping it would slow him down or make him crash. Nux responds by telling Slit to move Max (who's chained to the front of the vehicle) to the back as counterweight, so he only has to rely on the right wheel for turning and balance. This gives Max an opportunity to escape. %%Example needs context to make sense on its own.

* In ''Mille Bornes'' you can give an opponent a "Flat Tire", which stops them until they can play a "Spare Tire" or "Puncture Proof" card.

* ''Anime/TheCastleOfCagliostro:'' In the opening chase scene, Jigen attempts to shoot out the tires of the henchmens' vehicle. The first time, it's subverted; he hits the tires, but they are a special kind that are impervious to regular bullets. Jigen upgrades his ammo and tries again, this time hitting them and causing the car to immediately spin out and crash into the side of the mountain.
* This happens in ''Manga/DeathNote'' when they are trying to stop Higuchi from driving away with the Death Note.
* ''Anime/GhostInTheShellSAC2045''. In the ActionPrologue of the pilot episode, a Tachikoma does a more effective version by blasting off the entire front wheel of a technical.
* ''Manga/{{Golgo 13}}''. In the anime episode "The Masterpiece Assault Rifle" Duke is hired to burst the tire of the Japanese contestant in a car rally, to make it crash so that model of vehicle will be discredited and not compete with European manufacturers. Turns out it's a ruse by a MadScientist who wants to [[TestedOnHumans test his new assault rifle against the world's top assassin]] -- he suffers a KarmicDeath when (after [[InvincibleHero inevitably]] defeating the two mercenaries armed with the new rifle) Duke shoots out his tire as he flees, sending his van off a cliff.
* ''Anime/PsychoPass:'' Akane shoots the tires of a big truck that the culprit Makashima is trying to make his get away in, while [[OutsideRide clinging to its' side]]. This works really well, especially since trucks are hard to turn, and he couldn't shake her off.
* ''Anime/SpeedRacer'' attempted to do this to the Mammoth car. [[spoiler: It has so many tires that it didn't have any effect.]]

* In ''Mille Bornes'' you can give an opponent a "Flat Tire", which stops him until he can play a "Spare Tire" or "Puncture Proof" card.

* In ''ComicBook/CombatKellyAndHisDeadlyDozen'' #2, Jay Little Bear shoots the tyre of a German armored car with an arrow (as pictured above).

* A more effective variation in ''Film/TheAccountant2016''. The title character has a .50 Barrett anti-material rifle powerful enough to disable a vehicle by punching a hole in the engine block ([[TruthInTelevision Which is actually the Barrett's intended purpose]]). He takes out first the bad guys' vehicle, then when a mook tries to flee in the pickup owned by his hostages, he disables that one as well.

* ''Film/DickTracy''. While Big Boy's thugs are trying to escape the police cordon around his nightclub, Dick Tracy fires his Tommy gun at the tires of one of their cars, causing it to crash.

* Similarly in ''Film/MadMaxFuryRoad'', where the dual wheels and spiked hubcaps of the War Rig means this tactic is ineffective. However it's a plot point when Furiosa manages to do this to the front left wheel of Nux's car's, hoping it would slow him down or make him crash. Nux responds by telling Slit to move Max (who's chained to the front of the vehicle) to the back as counterweight, so he only has to rely on the right wheel for turning and balance. This gives Max an opportunity to escape.

* This happens to the main characters' car in ''Film/RebelWithoutACause'', and is done with a knife.

* DoubleSubversion in the American remake of ''Film/{{Taxi}}'' where the cop shoots out the tires of the thieves' car and it doesn't affect the car at all. Queen Latifah's character, however, realizes not only how this is possible (the wheels use a special gel to temporarily plug the hole and give the wheels some mileage before this trope is played straight) but [[spoiler: manages to track the thieves to the only part in New York where you could get these tires]].
* ''Film/Terminator2JudgmentDay''. During the scene where the T-1000 (driving a truck) is trying to run over John Connor (on his motorcycle), the T-800 shoots out the left front tire of the truck. The T-1000 loses control and rams the truck into an overpass, causing the truck to explode.

* ''Arm of the Law'' by Creator/HarryHarrison. A ThreeLawsCompliant robot policeman does this with a [[CranialProcessingUnit head-mounted]] recoilless cannon mounted right between the eyes for greater accuracy, coupled with a computer-controlled aiming system, neatly popping both rear tires. The criminals are so rattled they surrender quietly.
* In ''Literature/BattleRoyale'' the GrandFinale has the heroes facing off against [[spoiler: Kiriyama in a car chase]]. They use guns to pop his tires and cause his car to get destroyed.

* ''Series/{{Arrow}}'': Oliver does this to Dodger's car in "Dodger"; shooting the tyre with an arrow and causing it to crash.

** [[DefiedTrope Defied]] on one occasion. He tried shooting out the tires of a pursuing vehicle and couldn't, so he began using another tactic: shooting down at the road, causing the bullets to ricochet upwards through the unarmored bottom of the pursuing car. Understandably, this freaked the driver in the other car out.

* Happens in an episode of ''Series/MidsomerMurders'' to Troy. Troy repays the favor at the end of the episode, preventing the murderer from escaping.
* On ''Series/MyNameIsEarl'', Joy's SitcomArchNemesis [[spoiler: and half-sister]] Liberty takes a knife to the tires on Joy's BRAT. Earl and Joy retaliate by stealing her credit card and [[CreditCardPlot making all sorts of wacky purchases with it]].

** When they tested the above scene from ''Burn Notice'', they found that there's too much stuff on the underside of a car to count on a bullet finding its way through ... and that shooting the tires gave them a flat within half a mile.

** In "Kickback", [=CI5=] have to fake the assassination of a British government official. Bodie shoots out a tire on his limo so it has to stop. They when the official is being transferred to his escort car, another sniper shoots him twice in the chest (he's wearing a BulletproofVest).

* ''Series/WonderWoman'': Steve Trevor does this in "Gault's Brain" (one of the more impressive things he managed to do without Wonder Woman's help).

* A possible tactic in the ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto'' series since ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoViceCity''. In fact, CrazyPrepared players might just preemptively take out the tires of stationary vehicles near the mission to prevent their opponents to escape by driving them. Another common tactic is getting a 3-star wanted level, wherein the cops will start laying spike strips on the street, then the rest is obvious: as long as you can get your opponent to run over them, and avoid them yourself, you'll be fine. Another benefit to popping the tires is that tires are always vulnerable to gunfire, while cars during missions can at times be unrealistically tough to keep the player from an easy win.

* The ''Franchise/JamesBond'' games use this as a Bond Move--shooting out the tires counts as a non-lethal disable.

* In the car chase sequences in ''VideoGame/LANoire'' your partner can do this if you drive into position and give him a clear shot. At the climax of one arson case you end up chasing [[spoiler: a tram]] where this isn't an option.

* This is the weakness of Nitro Man ([[TransformingMecha a robot who transforms into a motorbike]]) in ''VideoGame/MegaMan10''. A direct Chill Spike shot freezes him but deals little damage. However, if you shoot it at the ground to form an icy [[SpikesOfDoom spike strip]] and let Nitro Man run over it, he suffers a lot of damage.

* Featured in the ''official VideoGame/{{Payday2}} XMAS Carol 2014'', when the gateway driver says "On the third day of Christmas, Payday gave to me: Aah, three tires shot!". He crashes at the end of the song.

* The ''VideoGame/SaintsRow'' series also has this tactic just like ''Grand theft Auto''. In ''VideoGame/SaintsRowTheThird'' you have to shoot out the wheels on a semi-trailer truck to stop it during one mission...with a tank. You're ''supposed'' to use the co-axial machine gun, but [[MoreDakka where's the fun in that]]?. Also, it's possible to shoot out the wheels of any car in the game, which greatly lowers its handling but still leaves it able to be driven.
* Shooting an enemy vehicle's tires in ''VideoGame/SleepingDogs'' will cause it to spin out-occasionally flipping up in the air-[[EveryCarIsAPinto and then explode]].
* ''VideoGame/SpyHunter'' probably provides the earliest video game example. One of the antagonists you meet on the road has SpikedWheels that can send your car spinning out of control if they get too close.

* This is a gameplay mechanic in ''VideoGame/TrueCrimeStreetsOfLA''.

* Done [[spoiler: accidentally]] in ''Webcomic/HaloAFistfulOfArrows''. Jun shoots out the tire of a car carrying a terrorist leader he's trying to capture. [[spoiler: The car spins out of control and goes off a bridge.]]

* Poison Ivy did that in ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' at least once with her wrist crossbow. At the end of the episode, her own tire is shot.

* ''WesternAnimation/CampLakebottom'': This is one of the dirty tricks Buttsquat pulls on [=McGee=] in "Slimeball Run".

* Leonardo does this to Snake's van in the first episode of the Creator/{{Nickelodeon}} ''[[WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2012 Ninja Turtles]]'' series by [[ImprobableAimingSkills throwing a shuriken on a curve in midair from the rooftops to hit a speeding vehicle directly in its front tire]].

--->'''Mulder:''' Okay, here's something that you may not know: shooting out the tires on a runaway RV is a LOT harder than it looks.

[[quoteright:350:[[ComicBook/CombatKellyAndHisDeadlyDozen https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/pop_the_tires.png]]]]

The classic action movie AntiVehicle tactic of shooting tires, or deflating them in any numbers of other ways, to hinder the maneuverability of a vehicle. The outcome of the tire damage depends to some extent on the special effects budget: the car might crawl to a stop, or become impossible to steer, or spectacularly crash.

The tactic is TruthInTelevision: police have "spike strips" available for when a high-speed chase isn't the best option. This is a subtrope of VehicularSabotage. SpikedWheels commonly have this effect. Compare to AntiCavalry, which takes out a different form of ground transport. {{Caltrops}} are a good way to achieve this effect.[[note]]... Though as demonstrated by [[Series/{{Mythbusters}} The Mythbusters]], they work much better when hollow, allowing the air from the tyre to escape through them rather than plugging the hole.[[/note]]

* In ''[[ComicBook/RobinSeries Robin Vol 4]]'' #31 Tim manages to grab the hand of a carjacker who is trying to shoot him and turn it so he shoots out his own front tire as Tim drags him out the window, which causes the car they stole to be totaled but that's what Tim was aiming for since it was a [[GrandTheftPrototype Wayne Tech Prototype]].

* Happens by freak accident in one ''Literature/CiaphasCain'' novel: a frag grenade goes off near one of his tank's treads, jamming it completely.

* In ''VideoGame/CoffeeTalk Episode 2: Hibiscus and Butterfly'', there's a car vandal that's been going around the city deflating the tires of some of your customers, including Jorji and Riona. Jorji heads the investigation to find the culprit, and Riona reports that her car's tires got deflated near a metered parking spot in front of an abandoned library, on a seemingly deserted street near a busy area that had a dead hawthorn tree surrounded by remembrance trinkets. [[spoiler:It's revealed that the fairy-folk were behind the crime, as they vandalized the cars over a broken promise to keep the tree because that was the "body" of their friend, fairy vendor who was killed by a drunk driver in 1959.]]

* In ''VideoGame/CoffeeTalk Episode 2: Hibiscus and Butterfly'', there's a car vandal that's been going around the city deflating the tires of some of your customers, including Jorji and Riona. Jorji heads the investigation to find the culprit, and Riona reports that her car's tires got deflated near a metered parking spot in front of an abandoned library, on a seemingly deserted street near a busy area that had a dead hawthorn tree surrounded by remembrance trinkets. [[spoiler:It's revealed that the fairy-folk were behind the crime, as they vandalized the cars over a broken promise to keep the tree because that was the "body" of the fairy vendor who was killed by a drunk driver in 1959.]]

* In ''VideoGame/CoffeeTalk Episode 2: Hibiscus and Butterfly'', there's a car vandal that's been going around the city to slash the tires of some of your customers, including Jorji and Riona. Jorji heads the investigation to find the culprit, and Riona reports that her car got slashed near a metered parking spot in front of an abandoned library, on a seemingly deserted street near a busy area that had a dead hawthorn tree surrounded by remembrance trinkets.

* In ''VideoGame/CoffeeTalk Episode 2: Hibiscus and Butterfly'', there's a car vandal that's been going around the city to slash the tires of some of your customers, including Jorji and Riona. Jorji heads the investigation to find the culprit, and Riona reports that her car got slashed near a metered parking spot in front of an abandoned library, on a seemingly deserted street near a busy area that has a dead hawthorn tree surrounded by remembrance trinkets.

* In ''VideoGame/CoffeeTalk Episode 2: Hibiscus and Butterfly'', there's a car vandal that's been going around the city to slash the tires of some of your customers, including Officer Jorji. He heads the investigation to find the culprit, but all he knows is that they have a "strike zone" that isn't near the café.

* A more effective variation in ''Film/TheAccountant''. The title character has a .50 Barrett anti-material rifle powerful enough to disable a vehicle by punching a hole in the engine block ([[TruthInTelevision Which is actually the Barrett's intended purpose]]). He takes out first the bad guys' vehicle, then when a mook tries to flee in the pickup owned by his hostages, he disables that one as well.

* In ''Film/MadMax2TheRoadWarrior'', Wez shoots his wrist-mounted crossbow at the tires of the Mack truck supposedly carrying the precious fuel. Since it's such a huge and powerful vehicle, and has multiple wheels, it doesn't accomplish much. The truck keeps on going despite the flattened tires.

The tactic is TruthInTelevision: police have "spike strips" available for when a high-speed chase isn't the best option. This is a subtrope of VehicularSabotage. SpikedWheels commonly have this effect. Compare to AntiCavalry, which takes out a different form of ground transport. {{Caltrops}} are a good way to achieve this effect.

* In addition to the police use of spike strips mentioned above, some parking garages use spike beds designed to only puncture tires from one direction. They're used both to enforce one-way lanes and to interfere with people trying to leave without paying, and are often accompanied by the iconic "SEVERE TIRE DAMAGE" warning.

* In addition to the police use of spike strips mentioned above, some parking garages use spike beds designed to only puncture tires from one direction. They're used both to enforce one-way lanes and to interfere with people trying to leave without paying, and are often accompanied by the iconic "SEVERE TIRE DAMAGE" warning.

* ''Serise/YoungSheldon'': In "A Resident Advisor and the Word 'Sketchy'", when Dennis is shaking down Connie and Dale, Connie excuses herself to the bathroom, but instead slashes the tires on Dennis' car.

Expect this to show up regularly during {{Car Chase Shoot Out|s}}.