David Fleet

Editor

For almost a decade Bruce DeGrouchy has been an avid bicyclist.

“I’m out riding just about every week I can,” said DeGrouchy, an Atlas Township resident since 1988. “I ride on the shoulder of the road, wear a helmet, have a flashing light on the back of my bike and use a rearview mirror for safety. You can never anticipate getting hit by a motorist, but over the years I’ve had a lot of close calls on the road. People don’t respect bicyclists, they don’t slow down and come way too close. Just give us three feet when you drive by.”

DeGrouchy is just one of thousands of bicyclists that ride for recreation and share the road with vehicles.

The often controversial bicycle-vehicle road sharing concerns drew national attention earlier this month in Kalamazoo following a deadly crash.

According to news sources, just after 6:30 p.m., June 7 five bicyclists were killed and four injured after being hit by a pickup truck north of Kalamazoo. The five bicyclists were pronounced dead at the scene.

The group of nine adult bicyclists were riding together when Charles E. Pickett, 50, allegedly drove his pickup into the group while they were climbing a hill in the rural area of Kalamazoo County. Pickett was arraigned June 10 on five counts of second-degree murder and four counts of reckless driving charges, according to news reports. On June 22 he was charged with operating while intoxicated. He remains in jail with no bond.

“I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been brushed by a mirror of a passing motorist,” added DeGrouchy.

“The other thing that happens is someone drives right up behind you and blows the horn about six feet behind,” he said. “You are just so scared by that, it’s easy to run off the road.”

DeGrouchy’s adventures on the road have not been without incidents.

“I’ve been hit hard three times,” he said. “Twice it was a hit and run and while I have some neck problems as a result of the accidents, I walked away with only bumps and bruises. I was in a construction zone on Fenton Road when a driver in a Dodge Caravan looked right at me and ran me into the ditch. I was lucky I landed on grass—I recall hearing gravel and skidding tires. I also remember my bike flying over me—I kept thinking I was going to get run over. Then she (the driver) just kept going.”

Once DeGrouchy was a target.

“I was at Belsay and Perry roads when the driver swerved over and hit me with his mirror,” he said.

While the relationship between motorists and bicyclists are often strained, both can use the same road.

According to Michigan law (MCL 257.657), each person riding a bicycle upon a roadway has all of the rights and is subject to all of the duties applicable to the driver of a vehicle except as to the provisions which by their nature do not have application.

Lt.Greg Glover, of the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office, Brandon Township Substation, said that while bicyclists are allowed to travel on the road, he does not recommend the practice of riding along within traffic.

“While it’s legal, I’m opposed to bikes on the road due to the number of distracted drivers out there,” said Glover. “We respond to accidents caused by drivers texting and those chatting on wireless telephones all the time. That’s a big problem today on our roads, so when bicyclists are in the roadway it’s just a very dangerous mix.”

In 2015 Glover said he was rear-ended in a patrol car by a female motorist that was texting while driving 50 mph down M-15.

“In addition to distracted drivers on the road, bicyclists often push motorists over the center line into opposing traffic when they swerve to the left to keep away,” he said. “Also, with loose gravel along the side of the road we’ve had cases of bicyclists sliding and falling into the roadway. A bicyclist has no protection out there—it’s a very vulnerable situation for them.”

Glover also cautioned bicyclists traveling on rural gravel roads.

“The speed limits are often 55 mph on local gravel roads,” he said. “If I had it my way it would be a lot slower out there, but it’s not, so those roads are dangerous too.”

The bicycle and vehicle issue has now drawn national attention. The National Transportation Safety Board, an independent U.S. government investigative agency responsible for civil transportation accident investigations arrived in Kalamazoo following the crash.

NTSB Spokesperson Eric Weiss responded in an email to The Citizen confirming a team was investigating the crash. However, no time frame on the investigation was confirmed.

DeGrouchy, who works with and supports Walk, Bike, Run Atlas Township, which spearheaded the Gale Road pathway, said the answer is in education.

“With all the distracted drivers on the road, I have become less brave about sharing the road,” he said. “I’d like to see the ‘rights of cyclists’ on the drivers’ road test. There’s just a lot of road rage about bicyclists and a lack of awareness. The responsibility is shared with bicyclists and cars for safety.”

DeGrouchy said his cousin’s daughter-in-law, Susan Cummings, was killed last August riding for the Hope Water Project.

“She was very involved in the organization and an avid cyclist,” he said. “We are currently trying to obtain signatures to petition the Michigan Legislature to create stronger Pedestrian Safety Legislation following the latest deaths in Kalamazoo.”

The petition is at www.change.org