The Oakland Press is reporting on a road rage incident which occurred Monday in the Detroit-suburb of West Bloomfield. The incident led to a motorist ramming a bicycle — twice — while the cyclist lay under the bike and the car in front.

When the two stopped for the light at Inkster and Maple roads, the bicyclist came up to the pickup driver’s window and told the driver he had crowded him on the road.

“The two exchanged words,” said Lt. Carl Fuhs of the West Bloomfield police.

Fuhs said the bicyclist struck the pickup truck’s mirror with a water bottle, and the bottle fell to the ground. The mirror wasn’t broken.

“He was off the bike walking (with it) to get the water bottle and went in front of the truck,” said Fuhs. “The pickup drove forward, ramming the bicycle. Then the driver backed up and rammed it again.”

The cyclist was taken to a nearby hospital with a broken ankle. The driver was arrested and and their vehicle was impounded.

Except for the rail-trail, West Bloomfield is simply a terribly unsafe place to ride a bike. All of the roads are controlled by the Road Commission for Oakland County, which refuses to design them to safely accommodate bicyclists.

Cycling advocates did meet with West Bloomfield planning officials this spring and asked that they include Complete Streets language in their master plan which is currently being revised.

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

The Oakland Press article’s title begins with “WHAT DO YOU THINK?”

What do we think about felonious assault? Is this is a news report or a public poll?

In any case, the Oakland Press was successful in eliciting plenty uninformed opinions on where cyclists should ride. To the paper’s credit, they updated the article to include Michigan’s state law.

The Oakland Press reported on another assault where an 18-year-old pregnant woman apparently stabbed another woman nine times. That article did not begin with “WHAT DO YOU THINK?”

Ninety-nine years later and bicyclists are facing the same issues Tom Swift faced in the first chapter of the  first book of the popular series, Tom Swift and His Motor Cycle, or, Fun and Adventure on the Road.

Aggressive driving.

Cyclists’ rights to the road.

Hat’s off to Tom Swift for keeping such a calm demeanor.

From the 1910 book which is freely available via Project Gutenberg:

As the boy spoke, the breeze, created by the speed at which the car was traveling, lifted off his cap, and sent it whirling to the rear.

Andy Foger turned for an instant’s glance behind. Then he opened the throttle still wider, and exclaimed:

“Let it go, Sam. We can get another. I want to see what time I can make to Mansburg! I want to break a record, if I can.”

“Look out, or you’ll break something else!” cried a lad on the rear seat. “There’s a fellow on a bicycle just ahead of us. Take care, Andy!” (more…)