Return to Phoenix and Bad Drivers

We arrived back in Phoenix earlier this evening, after getting a set of tires for Jake's van at a local tire shop.  The rest of the trip was uneventful. How is it that I can go hundreds of miles, be okay most of the time, and yet, without fail, things go south upon my return to home. I bike back home from Jake's place, and I meet a bad driver just blocks from the apartment. Meh…. I'm ok, and the bike is too.

What happened as recorded by Tempe Police follows:

I was biking back home from my trip so I had a stuffed backpack full of gear and my camera in it's bag weighing me down so I wasn't exactly fast. After crossing Mill Ave. on 6th St., I continued and turned right (northbound) on Maple Ave. I saw a car start to pull out of a parking space right in front of me, but he stopped just as I passed and I yelled, "Watch out!" When it was clear, he pulled out and drove next to me on my left. He swerved violently into me, hitting me and my bike, throwing me to the ground. He drove off and turned right onto 5th St., but I couldn't see the plate number when I got up.

———

A few other people tried to stop him because they saw what happened, and they also made statements, but none looked for or saw the plate number.

Anyway, if you are that incredibly idiotic driver who got the license in a Cracker Jack box, please stop driving. If you can't control yourself while interacting with the rest of the people on the road, you will end up taking someone out. The police informed me that what you did is a felony with guaranteed time in prison. It's serious. So if you read this and you want to apologize, you can find how to contact me through the blurb about me in the corner. Also, I need new pants. These jeans are full of holes down the right side where I slid on the asphalt. Any moist healing environment stuff would be good too.

I'm not really mad at this guy, but I am rather annoyed and somewhat disillusioned about biking in "America's Most Bicycle Friendly City." I hope that at some  point, bicycle questions will show up on driver's license tests. I don't know if they do currently, but too many drivers act like they don't have to pay attention to bikes while on the road.