Cycle victim’s widow backs new bike law

THE WIDOWER of a mother-oftwo who was knocked over and killed by a bicycle courier has “fully welcomed” the announcement ministers are considering a new offence of causing death by careless or dangerous cycling.

Charlie Alliston, then 18, was travelling at 18mph on a fixedwheel track bike with no front brakes before he crashed into 44-year-old Kim Briggs as she crossed Old Street in London, in February last year.

He was cleared of manslaughter but was sentenced to 18 months in jail this week after being found guilty of causing bodily harm by “wanton and furious driving”, a crime under the 1861 Offences Against the Person Act. The Victorian law, originally drafted to deal with reckless handling of horses, was used because there is no cycling equivalent in law of the offence of causing death by dangerous driving.

Matthew Briggs said the case of his wife “highlighted a huge gap” in the law.

He said: “I fully welcome it and am grateful to the government for acting so swiftly, and am looking forward to helping the review in any way I can and getting these laws on the statute book. Kim was by no means the first person this has happened to, but I think what Kim’s case has done is highlighted a huge gap in the law between one from 1861 at one end and manslaughter at the other end.”

The review is likely to spark anger among cyclists, who say 100 bike users are killed and 3,000 injured on British roads each year, compared with two pedestrians killed when hit by a cycle in 2015.