Little did Bultman dream he would become a poster child for his cause. But there he is, with crutches, 10 pins in his ankle and a mangled bicycle after getting clipped by a sport utility vehicle two weeks ago.

"One second I'm in a good mood, having fun and feeling good," said Bultman, "and the next second I'm in hell."

Bultman's plight underscores the reality of cycling the streets along the Wasatch Front. Though state, county and city transportation departments are planning and spending to create a cycling-friendly environment like never before, it's still an urban jungle out there for those using pedal power.

A bicycle commuter for many years, Bultman, a Millcreek resident, says he had become adept at "reading" drivers as he negotiated his way to and from work alongside rush-hour traffic. But that all changed on June 28 as he cruised west down 3300 South.

"It was my normal [commuting] route. If I see anybody doing something reckless I can usually avoid it. I usually feel like I'm in pretty good control," he said. "But not this time."

Just as Bultman entered the intersection at 400 East, an eastbound Toyota 4Runner made a left turn to head north. He hit the passenger door and bounced off it like a tennis ball. "I didn't have time to brake, or swerve or anything. I just braced myself, I guess," he said.

Bultman never lost consciousness, and was quite aware that his foot had become "unhinged" from the rest of his leg. The driver of the SUV was cited for failure to yield. Bultman, a bio-medical engineer, was out a bike and the ability to walk - let alone bicycle - for weeks and perhaps months to come. But he is alive to tell the tale.

And believe it, friends say - he'll be telling it for some time to come.

"Jason's about as hard-core as they come," said Raleigh Fehr, president of the Bonneville Bicycle Club of Utah. "He lives his life on a bike. As far as he's concerned, every road should be safe for cyclists. That's his goal in life."

In fact, the roads have become safer for bicyclists, statistically speaking. Statewide, fatalities from bicycle-motor vehicle accidents have dropped from 10 in 1993 to four in 2002. Injuries from bike-car mishaps in the same span have decreased from a high of 860 in 1995 to 585 in 2002.

Cyclists, though, see caveats amid the good news.

"The situation is improving. Communities are making a bigger investment [in bicycle-friendly roads]," said Lou Melini, who commutes from 12 to 18 miles daily on his bicycle to his job as a physician assistant. "But the sheer number of cars on the road continues to grow, and you've got more distracted drivers out there on cell phones or head phones. So despite what cities are doing, it's still about the same."

Bultman says his aspiration is to make life safer for cyclists on the Salt Lake Valley's major thoroughfares, particularly east-west roads, such as 3300 South, where he was hit.

"There are two valuable approaches," he said. "One is to create bike lanes and safe shoulders, giving cyclists room to ride safely. The other is to reach out to both motorists and cyclists. Cyclists are permitted on the road by law; in fact it's safer for them to be there than on sidewalks. Drivers need to acknowledge that cyclists being there is legal and they need to watch out for us. If there's any chance of a collision, slow down and watch out for your fellow man."

By the same token, he says, cyclists need to improve their own road skills, be it obeying traffic signals - some bikers ignore them - or riding single-file instead of two or three abreast when shoulder conditions are tight.

"Cyclists need to follow etiquette if they want to get respect on the road," Bultman said. "When you do things like run red lights, you lose all respect [from drivers] and it gives all cyclists a bad rap. Cyclists have to be part of the solution. It's about both sides."

Now, Bultman says he'd like to turn a negative into a positive, and use the 4Runner face-plant to sell his message.

"If anything good comes out of this," he said, "it's that 'Share the Road' will happen sooner rather than later."

jbaird@sltrib.com