
A spike strip (also referred to as a spike belt, road spikes, traffic spikes, tire shredders, stingers, stop sticks, by the trademark Stinger or formally known as a Tire Deflation Device or TDD) is a device or
incident weapon used to impede or stop the movement of wheeled vehicles by puncturing their
tire
A tire (North American English) or tyre (Commonwealth English) is a ring-shaped component that surrounds a Rim (wheel), wheel's rim to transfer a vehicle's load from the axle through the wheel to the ground and to provide Traction (engineeri ...
s.
Generally, the strip is composed of a collection of metal
barbs, teeth or spikes pointing upward. The spikes are designed to puncture and flatten tires when a vehicle is driven over them; they may be portable, as a police weapon, or strongly secured to the ground, as those found at security checkpoint entrances in certain facilities. (These particular models, however, retract and do not cause damage when a vehicle drives over them from the proper direction.) They also may be detachable, with new spikes fitted to the strip after use. The spikes may be hollow or solid; hollow ones are designed to detach and become embedded in the tires, allowing air to escape at a steady rate to reduce the risk of the driver losing control and crashing. They are historically a development of the
caltrop, with anti-cavalry and anti-personnel versions being used as early as 331 BC by
Darius III against
Alexander the Great
Alexander III of Macedon (; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), most commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip ...
at the
Battle of Gaugamela in
Persia
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
.

In the United States, five officers were killed deploying spike strips in 2011, having been struck by fleeing vehicles.
Dallas
Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...
,
Texas
Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
police are among those banned from using them, in response to the hazards.
Remotely deployable spike strips have been invented to reduce the danger to police officers deploying them.
Private possession of spike strips was banned in
New South Wales
New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
, Australia in 2003 after a strip cheaply constructed from a
steel pipe studded with
nails was used against a police vehicle.
John Watkins, a member of New South Wales Legislative Assembly, stated they would be added to the New South Wales prohibited weapons list.
Following the rise in
terrorist vehicle attacks whereby a vehicle is driven at speed into pedestrians, a net with steel spikes that can be deployed by two people in less than a minute, reported able to stop a vehicle of up to 17 tonnes, was developed for preventive use at public events in the UK, with the name "Talon". It has steel spikes to puncture tires, and becomes entangled around the front wheels, halting the vehicle. It is designed to reduce risk to crowds by making the vehicle skid in a straight line without veering unpredictably. It was first deployed to protect a parade on 11 September 2017.
See also
*
Car chase
A car chase or vehicle pursuit is the vehicular overland chase of one party by another, involving at least one automobile or other wheeled motor vehicle, commonly hot pursuit of suspects by law enforcement. The rise of the automotive industry i ...
References
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Engineering barrages
Law enforcement equipment
Espionage devices
Military equipment
Area denial weapons
Tires
Road hazards