The Egg Windshield Robbery Rumor

waffles

January 9, 2013

Today we take a look at a common internet warning about robbers throwing eggs at car windshields. This supposedly obscures their view, which will force them to pull over and thus become vulnerable to attack.

An attack such as this is possible, though some of the details in this story do not prove to be true and there appears to be no widespread incidence of it. Let’s take a look at the warning itself:

IF YOU ARE DRIVING AT NIGHT AND EGGS ARE THROWN AT YOUR WINDSCREEN, DO NOT STOP TO CHECK THE CAR , DO NOT OPERATE THE WIPER AND DO NOT SPRAY ANY WATER, BECAUSE EGGS MIXED WITH WATER BECOME MILKY AND BLOCK YOUR VISION UP TO 92.5%, AND YOU ARE THEN FORCED TO STOP BESIDE THE ROAD AND BECOME A VICTIM OF THESE CRIMINALS. THIS IS A NEW TECHNIQUE USED BY GANGS, SO PLEASE INFORM YOUR FRIENDS AND RELATIVES. .

Plz do spread awareness. . ?

Too many variables
Consider the variables at hand in such a situation. How many eggs are being thrown, and from what distance? What area of the windshield did the eggs strike? What type of windshield wipers and fluid are being used? What is the weather outside?

For these reasons it is impossible to assign a specific number such as 92.5% as included in the warning.

Do eggs obscure vision?
The crux of the story above is that eggs thrown on a windshield will both immediately obscure vision, and also be difficult to wipe away with wipers blades. The number of eggs thrown and where the eggs actually strike the windshield would vary greatly in such a scenario, so it is impossible to generalize this part. The contention that eggs on a windshield will become “milky and block your vision” does not hold up to scrutiny. Tests by us and others all fail to reproduce such claims. Rather, in most cases, wiper blades and fluid rather easily clear away eggs on a windshield.

Common Sense
Most people probably wouldn’t immediately pull over if attacked by eggs – or anything else – in a strange neighborhood, as this is obviously an act of aggression. It is also not the most efficient way to rob someone. Surely people lobbing eggs at passing cars would draw too much attention to the would-be robbers.

Is this incident occurring?
The final issue to be raised is if the incident in the warning is widespread or not. If it’s not widespread, it wouldn’t require such a warning, so the implication is that this is a common occurrence. Though it certainly is possible that robbers may lob eggs at passing cars, there is no evidence of any widespread cases. In fact, the exact incident above seems to be completely missing from the journalistic record available.

Bottom Line
The warning appears to be without merit, using a fake percentage, incorrect statements about eggs versus windshield wipers, and a lack of any widespread incidence of occurrence.