Imagine your riding home from work, all entirely normal, on a straight and flat road. A car attempts to overtake you, but when you're level with his rear wheel, another car appears coming the other way. The road narrows a bit so the overtaking car squeezes you towards the kerb, rather than backing out of the manoevre and tryign again when it's clear. There's quite a bit of grit next to the kerb, including some larger chippings, one of which you ride over. Said chipping 'pings' out from under your front tyre just as the overtaking car is backing off and you're level with his front pasenger side window. Next thing you hear is a load bang as the cars pasenger window no longer exists and the car is now going backwards like it's just developed air brakes…..

What would you do next?

Laugh – alot

can't picture that at all – near-vertical trajectory of stone ?

sure your hypothetical situation doesn't involve a fist/hammer ?

Yep, I'd laugh too.
Please tell me this is really a true story.

Think "bugger if only I'd filmed it I'd be a "youtube sensation"?

I've hit a couple in similar situations to that, always thought tough shit if they've put the squeeze on me.

Never took a window out though!

Yep, happened on the way home last night….. I cannot be 100% sure it was the stone that did it, but the time delay between feeling the stone flick out from under my front tyre and the window bursting are consisent (i.e. – one followed the other, nearly instantly) As far as I can tell there was nothing else that could of caused it – except perhaps I was being overtaken by Jason Statham in 'Transporter' mode who was trying to blow my head off with a gun, whilst avoiding a collision with the on coming car, at that exact moment.

Go back and see if they need any help/if they are O.K. and not injured by flying glass or anything…

so what did you do?

geoffj – Member
Laugh – alot

+1. I'd probably fall off the bike laughing so much!!

I carried on my merry way – I swore at f**ker under my breath as he was squeezing me into the kerb and looked on it as 'instant-karma'

I accept you could equally do as Mr Woppit suggests, but right then, for many reasons, I didn't stop.

Sure it wasnt the stone pinging out that jolted your bars into the window? It'd take a fair sized stone on a fairly bizzare trajectory to smash a window,

Perhaps they were actually shooting at you?

brilliant. i threw a banana at a campervan on sunday for similar squeezing behaviour. nothing smashed.

so karma does exist – maybe the universe is slowly working it's way round to balancing out all the atrocious driving that I encounter on my daily commute.

Never had stones flick up like that although it'd be nice to know how you did it – worst I've had to do is to punch the rear offside of a Mondeo to stop the fecker running me off the road (approaching stationary car turning right the eejit thought he'd be able to overtake and squeeze through the gap)

brilliant. i threw a banana at a campervan on sunday for similar squeezing behaviour. nothing smashed.

excellent.

TINAS – No actual contact occured. At the time I ran over the stone I was hard on the front brake, so there was quite a lot of load on the front tyre (gotta love Road BB7's). I agree – it was a miracle shot.

Yep, happened on the way home last night….. I cannot be 100% sure it was the stone that did it, but the time delay between feeling the stone flick out from under my front tyre and the window bursting are consisent (i.e. – one followed the other, nearly instantly) As far as I can tell there was nothing else that could of caused it – except perhaps I was being overtaken by Jason Statham in 'Transporter' mode who was trying to blow my head off with a gun, whilst avoiding a collision with the on coming car, at that exact moment.

You're in Bristol? Far more likely to be someone shooting nearby.

TBH I'd have carried on, not worth getting wrapped up in an argument that they might have assumed you punched their window out.

coffeking – yes, either he was a terrible shot, or I'm f'ing brilliant! 😉

TBH I'd have carried on, not worth getting wrapped up in an argument that they might have assumed you punched their window out.

Indeed – that was my first thought. I was also late for the Bristol v Exeter playoff game as well – as it turned out, it was a very wet, very disappointing night so I may have been better of stopping….. 🙁

as it turned out, it was a very wet, very disappointing night so I may have been better of stopping

It was so bad you'd have preferred a punch in the face? Blimey…

Well, it would have certainly been more exciting, but I see your point….

A while back I was cycling up a hill a few metres away from a huge metal fence when a stone pinged out from underneath my back tyre and went CLAAAAANNGGGG on the fence. It made me jump and attracted the attention of some chaps on the other side of the fence a distance away; I could easily believe a similar situation could cause some damage if it hit something less hardy.

You're being "squeezed" by a car? Pull one of those, you know, brake things…

Pfft. 🙄

I would contend that it's up to whoever is overtaking to be in a position to do it safely. If I have to deviate from my normal course that is (IIRC) by definition dangerous driving on their part. As one of my previous posts, above, states I was hard on the brakes which probably added to the speed of the stone.

What's your point caller?

Mr Woppit – Member
You're being "squeezed" by a car? Pull one of those, you know, brake things…

Pfft.

He already said he did… Read up buddy 🙄

As for your "Hypothetical" situation it verges on the unbelievable to me, are you totally certain that if you had stopped you'd have found the driver slumped over the wheel with a red trickle comming from his left temple?

If it was indeed a bicycle wheel launched pebble that has to be a 1/100000000 shot… good work.

Awesome!

Grit can shoot out from under road tyres at considerable velocity and v odd trajectories.

I often wish I had a 9mm when commuting through Bristol. But then I think everyone else feels like that :o)

As for your "Hypothetical" situation it verges on the unbelievable to me, are you totally certain that if you had stopped you'd have found the driver slumped over the wheel with a red trickle comming from his left temple?

No, I suspect all the energy of the stone would have been lost in breaking the window. As I say, I will never be 100% sure it was the stone that did it – but the evidence is compelling.

I often wish I had a 9mm when commuting through Bristol. But then I think everyone else feels like that :o)

Amen – It happened coming through a part of Lockleaze that I'd rather not stop in at the best of times.