CYCLISTS WHO KILL FACE LIFE IN PRISON
Crackdown after Kim dies
CYCLISTS who kill could be jailed for life like motorists under tough new laws.
The Government will announce a new offence of “causing death by dangerous cycling” this week.
At the moment anyone found guilty of causing death by dangerous driving can be jailed for 14 years.
But ministers want to increase the sentence to a maximum of life behind bars – and also apply it to cyclists.
Matthew Briggs has been campaigning for a change in the law since his wife Kim died after being struck by a cyclist who was racing through London on a bike with no front brake.
Charlie Alliston was sentenced to just 18 months in a young offender institution last September.
He had claimed he did not know it was illegal to ride a bike on the road with defective brakes.
Cleared of manslaughter, he was found guilty of causing bodily harm by “wanton and furious driving” under an 1861 law designed to tackle speeding horse-and-carriage drivers in Hyde Park.
Transport Minister Jesse Norman ordered a review of the law following outrage over the court case.
Mr Briggs said: “If we can get the law changed, then it will be a big achievement.
“People started telling me quite early on that I might be able to bring about change as a result of Kim’s death.”