Dashcam footage shows the moment a passing scooter rider throws a chunk of metal at a car windscreen smashing the glass.

The driver was with his wife and child in the car at the time driving through a narrow side street in Taoyuan City’s Longtan District in north-western Taiwan.

Video shows the scooterist coming in the other direction and appearing to wind up his arm long before coming into view. Then as the scooter passes the front of the car, the suspect throws the block of metal at the windscreen which lands in the corner and cracks the safety glass open.

The car suffered a huge dent in the bottom-left corner of his windscreen and cracks along the rest of the glass. The metal chunk appeared to be a piece of equipment used to fix aluminium pipes.

Local authorities said they tracked down the scooter rider with the help of the dashcam footage. He claimed he threw the metal block at Pan’s car because he was "driving the wrong way" but was detained while further investigations continue.