Its raining stones

Commuting, Day rides, Audax, Incidents, etc.
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tank
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Its raining stones

Post by tank »

There I was last night cycling home from work on my recumbent at about 20:00, I was wearing my orange high viz jacket and had multiple lights on front and back. I cycled through a set of traffic lights whilst they were on green and did the usual right turn. I had been keeping my eye on the traffic and the traffic lights and so was not taking a lot of notice about what was going on at the McDonalds that was on the corner.

As I was pulling out of the right turn, in the inside lane, a people carrier came beside me in the outside lane. I was in no way feeling threatend my the vehicle.

The next thing I know is that there is a big bang and a small rock/big stone falls between the vehicle and me onto the road. :? The car travelled up the road a little and pulled in safely.

It would seem from what can be pieced together from me and a car that was behind us is that outside McD's there were a bunch of youths one of which through the stone that hit the vehicle. From where the damage is on the vehicle and where we both were on the road it looks as if I was the intended target of the stone. :shock:

If the stone had hit me then I am not sure what would have happend. I would probably have come off the bike and as there was quite a bit of traffic there was a car right behind me and I am not sure it would have been able to stop should I have come off the result of which isn't worth contemplating really.

As it is the stone missed me and all that has happend is that I am a bit shook up by the experience, no damage to me or the bike.
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Psamathe
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Re: Its raining stones

Post by Psamathe »

I would report it to the Police. I'm sure they wont set-up a task force, etc. but such behaviour may not be a "one-off". I remember a year or so ago in Essex on the A12 there was a spate of people throwing rocks off bridges onto passing vehicles and as I remember (maybe incorrectly) several people died and/or were severely injured. Went on for several months and don't remember the outcome.

But, if you report to the Police they may decide to fetch and keep the CCTV from McD in case there are further incidents reported - and at least then they might have something to start on.

And even if the don't do anything, at least they have had the opportunity to do something (and on their heads be it if there are more incidents).

Ian
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661-Pete
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Re: Its raining stones

Post by 661-Pete »

Yes, definitely needs to be reported to the police. I'm sure they will take such behaviour extremely seriously, especially since there was more than one witness. Throwing stones or similar missiles at traffic can kill! And the staff at the McD may also be able to provide evidence. Report it!
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axel_knutt
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Re: Its raining stones

Post by axel_knutt »

The worst I've had on the bike is being squirted with water from a cyclists water bottle out of the window of a passing car.

Once when was walking home from the town I was shot at with an airgun by a kid in an upstairs window, so I turned straight round and went to the Police. She wrote something on scrap of paper as I told her:

"OK, I'll get someone to look into it".
"So don't you want to know where it happened, then?"
"Oh.....Er.....yes"

So presumably the WPC filed it WPB, then. :lol:
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Postboxer
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Re: Its raining stones

Post by Postboxer »

Never say it was air gun, then see what they do.
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661-Pete
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Re: Its raining stones

Post by 661-Pete »

When I was a student, living in digs, someone once shot an airgun pellet through my bedroom window. I wasn't in at the time. I didn't think there was anyone with a particular grudge against me, but my landlady thought differently (well it was her house after all): at any rate she insisted on calling the police at once and they arrived promptly. In the meantime I'd found the pellet by rummaging around on the carpet. The cops said they were taking it seriously, they questioned me and they searched my bedroom for any further clues (it was all very informal in those days, helmeted bobbies, no white-coated SOCOs). Anyway nothing more came of it.

An airgun may be a 'soft' weapon to some, but it can be deadly.
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tank
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Re: Its raining stones

Post by tank »

Postboxer wrote:Never say it was air gun, then see what they do.


Postboxer, seeing as I live in Belfast saying this sort of thing is IMOA not the way to go it could cause more troble than it is worth.

The witness of the incident did make a call to the Police (PSNI as it is over here) but I have never heard anything from them.
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Ben@Forest
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Re: Its raining stones

Post by Ben@Forest »

As a teenager I was 'egged' once. Thrown from a passing car it hit me on the thigh and the shock, more than the force, made me cycle into the verge and fall off because of the lumpiness of the grass. I pretty well knew it was the usual group of local louts. This was the mid-eighties and it's one of the things which makes me wary of 'it was better in the good ol' days' stories.
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ArMoRothair
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Re: Its raining stones

Post by ArMoRothair »

661-Pete wrote:When I was a student, living in digs, someone once shot an airgun pellet through my bedroom window. I wasn't in at the time. I didn't think there was anyone with a particular grudge against me, but my landlady thought differently (well it was her house after all): at any rate she insisted on calling the police at once and they arrived promptly. In the meantime I'd found the pellet by rummaging around on the carpet. The cops said they were taking it seriously, they questioned me and they searched my bedroom for any further clues (it was all very informal in those days, helmeted bobbies, no white-coated SOCOs). Anyway nothing more came of it.

An airgun may be a 'soft' weapon to some, but it can be deadly.



Many years ago we were occasionally hearing pinging noises. I put them down to PVC guttering expanding and contracting in the sun. Then one evening I stepped outside the flat and I heard a distinct ricochet sound - exactly like in the movies. I stepped back inside to announce to my other half what I had just heard. We were looking out the window at the block of flats opposite and at that moment she shouted "I see the gun". The gunman had moved and shown himself briefly.

I called the cops. A half dozen of them turned up. I met them downstairs and pointed out which flat was doing the shooting. We heard other shots as we were talking. They were using the sat-dish on our roof as a target.

Went back to our flat and had a ring-side seat of the police raiding the flat opposite. When finished they came back over to take statements from us. They were like kids at Christmas because, as they explained to us, there are many many reports of air-rifle incidents all over the country but they are almost impossible to trace. They were a pleased as punch to have made arrests.

It was one seriously big air-rifle and judging by the way the shots bent the mild steel of the satellite dish it would have been very nasty to be hit by one.
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[XAP]Bob
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Re: Its raining stones

Post by [XAP]Bob »

ArMoRothair wrote:
661-Pete wrote:When I was a student, living in digs, someone once shot an airgun pellet through my bedroom window. I wasn't in at the time. I didn't think there was anyone with a particular grudge against me, but my landlady thought differently (well it was her house after all): at any rate she insisted on calling the police at once and they arrived promptly. In the meantime I'd found the pellet by rummaging around on the carpet. The cops said they were taking it seriously, they questioned me and they searched my bedroom for any further clues (it was all very informal in those days, helmeted bobbies, no white-coated SOCOs). Anyway nothing more came of it.

An airgun may be a 'soft' weapon to some, but it can be deadly.



Many years ago we were occasionally hearing pinging noises. I put them down to PVC guttering expanding and contracting in the sun. Then one evening I stepped outside the flat and I heard a distinct ricochet sound - exactly like in the movies. I stepped back inside to announce to my other half what I had just heard. We were looking out the window at the block of flats opposite and at that moment she shouted "I see the gun". The gunman had moved and shown himself briefly.

I called the cops. A half dozen of them turned up. I met them downstairs and pointed out which flat was doing the shooting. We heard other shots as we were talking. They were using the sat-dish on our roof as a target.

Went back to our flat and had a ring-side seat of the police raiding the flat opposite. When finished they came back over to take statements from us. They were like kids at Christmas because, as they explained to us, there are many many reports of air-rifle incidents all over the country but they are almost impossible to trace. They were a pleased as punch to have made arrests.

It was one seriously big air-rifle and judging by the way the shots bent the mild steel of the satellite dish it would have been very nasty to be hit by one.

either of my air rifles would do serious damage to a person at anything reasonably close. The air pistol would require pretty close range, but would be easy to use from a vehicle (not that I would).

I reckon a sat dish would end up more peppered than dented with decent pellets - range dependent of course!
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nez
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Re: Its raining stones

Post by nez »

661-Pete wrote:When I was a student, living in digs, someone once shot an airgun pellet through my bedroom window. I wasn't in at the time. I didn't think there was anyone with a particular grudge against me, but my landlady thought differently (well it was her house after all): at any rate she insisted on calling the police at once and they arrived promptly. In the meantime I'd found the pellet by rummaging around on the carpet. The cops said they were taking it seriously, they questioned me and they searched my bedroom for any further clues (it was all very informal in those days, helmeted bobbies, no white-coated SOCOs). Anyway nothing more came of it.

An airgun may be a 'soft' weapon to some, but it can be deadly.


If only it were soft. Read this http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/musi ... ident.html
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rudge
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Re: Its raining stones

Post by rudge »

A couple of years ago I was riding into Soulby in the dusk. A car passed me and the passenger hurled a can of beer hard at the tarmac. It exploded, as it was meant to do. The can exploded too far in front for me be brought to some kind of grief, as was presumably the intention. I didn't know whether this was a gesture against cyclists, against strangers, or against the ancientry. In any case, I didn't report it to the police. The logic of the thread is that I should have done so. For all I know, this might have been the seventh time the stunt had been pulled.

Next time.
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Audax67
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Re: Its raining stones

Post by Audax67 »

Reminiscent of the airport buses being shot at on the Westway back in the 70s(?). I don't think that guy was ever caught. He used something a little more pompous than an air-rifle, too.
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Re: Its raining stones

Post by Psamathe »

A general comment on such incidents: Depending on the detail of what happens, I suspect that in many cases the Police will not have adequate information to do much (even if motivated to do so). However, I feel it is still worth reporting so the Police can identify patterns, etc. If nobody says anything then many people might have lucky escapes until somebody does not have a lucky escape. If the Police know about the 30 lucky-escape incidents then they will possibly be investigating, patrolling, etc and might catch the person before the unlucky victim suffers. If the first think they know is the unlucky serious incident, then everybody will feel they could have done more and a few will then raise their own experiences (but a bit late now).

I can be pretty critical of the Police, but if they don't have any knowledge of what is going on then they don't stand a chance of avoiding tragedy.

Ian
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