Someone threw a bottle at my car on 95N today (legally, license)

[Denton56]

When you say light skinned do you mean white or light skinned Black, or light skinned something else? It might help someone to identify him if they knew his color.

[need_more_light]

Originally Posted by mississippimagnolia

Huh? Is there ever a reason to throw a bottle at someone?

Well, I find it odd and I've never encountered someone just throwing things at my car just because they want to. Maybe, just maybe the guy was cut off or the OP did something that the OP may not have realized?

I never said it was a right thing to throw a bottle at someone. However, I feel like something happened before the guy start throwing a bottle at the OP.

There could be many reasons why the guy did what he did. For example, Zinedine Zidane, one of the most famous French soccer players, head-butted an Italian player during the World Cup Final in 2006. Why did he do it? Zidane claimed that the Italian player (I believe his name was Materazzi) was insulting Zidane's mom. Well, there should be no reason for Zidane to head-butt the Italian player. On the other hand, there should have been no reason for the Italian player to insult Zidane's mom either.

The guy above me already stated some of the possible reasons.

Maybe I should re-word my question: Do you know what caused the guy to throw the bottle at you, OP?. Happy?

[The Dissenter]

Originally Posted by rvasonicbloom

There was probably a reason:

a) You cut him off.
b) You were driving slow.
c) You were blasting music.
d) You had a bumper sticker he didn't like.
e) You were driving a Peugeot.

Next time try to be more considerate to other drivers on the road.

May be a reason but that don't excuse throwing a bottle. Can damage the car or cause more havoc. That makes giving someone the bird sensible.

[Mr.Cat]

I wonder why stuff like this doesn't happen to me. I am praying for someone to pull a stunt like this on me.

[Pretzelogik]

Originally Posted by rvasonicbloom

There was probably a reason:

a) You cut him off.
b) You were driving slow.
c) You were blasting music.
d) You had a bumper sticker he didn't like.
e) You were driving a Peugeot.

Next time try to be more considerate to other drivers on the road.

There you go my friend, its your fault not the a-hole that threw the bottle. This is in keeping with current upside down logic that goes on in the country

[robbobobbo]

Originally Posted by rvasonicbloom

There was probably a reason:

a) You cut him off.
b) You were driving slow.
c) You were blasting music.
d) You had a bumper sticker he didn't like.
e) You were driving a Peugeot.

Next time try to be more considerate to other drivers on the road.

I thought this was being tongue-in-cheek. And I seriously doubt the bottle-thrower would know a Peugeot if he saw one (or be able to pronounce the name if he saw the badge).

I've done all 5 things in my driving history (not at once, and 'e' only briefly) and nobody threw anything at me!

[Caladium]

More than likely it was just somebody littering. Throwing an empty bottle out without thinking.

I've never had this happen to me in VA, but somebody threw a coke can at my car when I was visiting Arkansas last year. I guess some people are just pigs.

Actually, I've always been surprised at how relatively litter-free the roads are here in Virginia. Compared to other cities I don't see that much trash at all. Now if you want to see a lot of trash along the road, continue up 95. There are some spots where it gets pretty bad.

[Amber Lamps]

Sorry I haven't responded sooner, been at work... so here's more details since everyone's quick to blame me as the antagonist.

95 N was jammed about like 95S is at that time of day. Escalade guy was in the lane to the right of me about 3-4 car lengths behind. I saw I had plenty of space, put on my signal (like I ALWAYS do), and merged. He literally had to then speed up and honk at me to act like I had done something wrong. I waved at him , which he could see through my rear windshield. He obviously didn't like this (which was sort of my intent, but I didn't flick him the bird or anything), and drove up next to me and started mouthing off. I told him to go the F home. We were driving parallel, both windows down, and he threw the bottle , trying to hit me in the face. That's when I told him I was calling the cops, which brings us to the rest of the story.

Should I have ignored the Beep? Sure, but all I did was wave.
Should I have not merged?I had absolutely no reason not to. I did nothing rude nor illegal and used my signal. He would have had to be much closer for it to be perceived as an aggressive action.We were both going about 10-15MPH, and if that is considered a "no merge" situation, well no one would ever be able to get over a lane in traffic.
Should I have ignored him when he started yapping? Probably, he could have shot me.
Should I have called the cops? Absolutely.

To the person that asked his skin color. He was a light skinned African American with VA plates driving a green Escalade EXT (which I believe is the type with a truck bed). He had dreads (not like bob marley, thinner and more sparse). He was either missing some front teeth or had a gold cap, I can't remember for sure, but he had something in his mouth which broke up the normal teeth plane. He also liked to act like a tough guy, and proclaimed I should pull over so he could "beat my white ass". That was before I called the cops. He eventually started asking me to "pull over so we could talk about it" in sort of a whimpering voice.

Whatever, it's over. I was hoping with all the people on this board, someone might have seen it since there were hundreds of cars around. I won't bother with trying to get traffic cameras for such a small incident. I will pay attention in that area for such a vehicle, though I doubt he was from around here. Perhaps the scare with possible police attention will compel him to behave a bit more civilized in the future. Thanks for everyone's comments !

[perries]

A person who behaves that way may well have previously had personal interactions with the police, which is my take on why he made such extreme efforts to cover his license plate.

I was harassed on the road once in rural Ohio. At the direction of a trooper who was waving people over into one lane to avoid a breakdown, I moved over just like everybody else and van behind me took offense and harassed me for the next 10 miles. I think it had everything to do with them being 2 guys, and me being a lone female college student. It was scary, but in no way did I consider it my fault, not for a second. People are responsible for their own behavior, whether they care to acknowledge that or not.

[South Jersey Styx]

Originally Posted by Amber Lamps

... drove up next to me and started mouthing off. I told him to go the F home. .. .

Big mistake. Anytime you use the f**k-word, people get broiled up.

Originally Posted by Amber Lamps

I waved at him , which he could see through my rear windshield. He obviously didn't like this (which was sort of my intent, but I didn't flick him the bird or anything),

Hand gestures cannot always be seen very well in moving vehicles, especially from back windshields. They can be mistaken for the f-you finger or a fist, also very confrontational gestures.

I'm glad to hear you weren't physically hurt. Going only 10-15 mph and having the dude ride up parallel to you puts you in close quarters. He could have shot you or jumped out of his vehicle and chased you down with a tire iron. You just never know about people these days.