Kim Briggs Widower Calls For Law Change
26 August 2017, 11:44 | Updated: 26 August 2017, 13:11
The husband of a mother-of-two killed by a cyclist has told LBC he will change outdated bike laws.
The husband of a mother-of-two who was killed by a cyclist say he is determined to change bike laws.
Widower Matthew Briggs, 45, whose wife Kim, 44, was mowed down while crossing the road in east London last year spoke movingly of his “amazing” children and also thanked the family of 2008 cycling victim Rhiannon Bennett for their recent support.
Calling in to Andrew Castle’s LBC show, Mr Briggs remarkably said he still “loves” cycling, adding that his call to action was “not a witch hunt against cyclists”, many of whom supported him.
As for 20 year-old offender Charlie Alliston, 20, who appeared in court recently where he was cleared of manslaughter, Mr Briggs said, “His demeanour is probably(a) matter for him and his conscience. I’ll say no more than that.”
Alliston was riding a fixed gear bike with brakes only on the back wheels when he struck Kim Briggs.
“Thank for covering this,” said Mr Briggs, “I stepped into this world with a strong degree of trepidation because we were always quite a private family. But sometimes you have to do the right thing.
"I had the most moving phone call last night with the parents of Rhiannon Bennett who was very sadly killed a number of years ago. It just seems to me that the law needs to be widened - if not actually even new laws - to include offences of death by dangerous cycling, reckless cycling and serious injury by the same.
He continued, “I’ve said time and time again that this is not a witch hunt against cyclists. I cycle in London and I love cycling in London and I think it’s great that so many people are cycling in London. But with that increase in the number of cyclists comes an increase in the number f risks and sadly, nationally, a 47% increase in the number of injuries caused by cyclists in recent years and in London that’s much higher. So I’m just calling for the law to catch up.
“My children are 14 and 11 and they’re amazing. They’ve been through the worst thing that children could have to go through. But Kim has done a pretty good job, they have her joy, her sense of adventure, her sense of fun and slowly, very slowly, you don’t get back to normal but what you do is you build a new ‘normal’."
Mr Briggs added that he was hopeful to now have the support of leading MPs to help change the law.
“My MP Heidi Alexander has been with me since the beginning on this and is going to push for this in parliament and over in the House of Lords, Lord Hutton is going to be helping," he said, "I would urge any politicians of any party to get in touch and support this. Andrew, let's just get this done! It is quite simple.”
