I'm not condoning the action, but:
The language is a bit alarmist. "A pedestrian could have been decapitated." I don't think the pedestrian would have been concerned too much because the rest of his body would be a pulpy mass in the grill of a Range Rover.
Anyway, we all won't be concerned about decapitation when the asteroid hits.
I hardly think the mesh obscured the drivers view. I have seen finer mesh used in an automotive accessory designed as a windscreen stone guard.
http://www.aulro.com/afvb/attachment...n-hsrrover.jpg