A loose bottle by a wheel is usually litter. Sometimes it is not. Drivers have been warned about bottles placed near a tire to startle someone into getting out of a running car. The idea is simple: an unexpected crackle makes a person stop, open the door, and step away from the seat.
That brief moment of distraction is what an opportunist wants. You do not need a dramatic story to take the warning seriously. You only need to treat an odd object at your tire as a reason to slow down, not as a puzzle you must solve in the dark.
