Wiltshire widower backs plans for life sentences for cyclists who kill

BBC News

5 days ago

A widower who has led an eight-year campaign for a change in road safety laws has welcomed proposals that could result in life sentences for death by dangerous cycling.Peter Walker's wife Diana, 76, was on her way home from a shop in May 2016 when she was hit by a cyclist in Pewsey, Wiltshire. She died in hospital on the following day.After campaigning with other bereaved families, Mr Walker, 88, said his "dearest wish" was to spare others from going through the same.The new laws - which could lead to cyclists who kill pedestrians facing life imprisonment - have been at committee stage and the Department for Transport (DfT) said they will be debated "in due course".
Mr and Mrs Walker had only recently moved into a retirement home and he had been expecting to spend many more years with his wife, who he said was a "very fit person" and a "wonderful mother".Not only a loss to the family, he said she had been very active in the community too.Mr Walker said she died the day after the incident because she was being kept on life support for organ donation."I don't want anybody to go through what I've had to go through," he said.
Mr Walker welcomed the proposed law changes but said that "having to wait nearly nine years for something to happen is an absolute disgrace"."It was just to make certain that the police fully investigated an accident on the highway where a cyclist killed a pedestrian," he added.Similar changes drafted by the previous Conservative government were dropped when Parliamentary business was halted following the announcement of the general election in July 2024.
Updating 160-year-old laws
Proposed changes to the Crime and Policing Bill mean a cyclist found guilty of killing a pedestrian could face a life sentence, while those who injure walkers could go to jail for five years.The changes would also mean serious injury caused by dangerous cycling - or death by careless or inconsiderate cycling - could incur punishments of five years in jail, fines, or both.A serious injury caused by careless or inconsiderate cycling would result in a two-year sentence, a fine, or both, under the proposals.A DfT spokesperson said: "Dangerous cycling is completely unacceptable. "The Government is proposing new offences and penalties for dangerous cycling, updating legislation that is over 160 years old, to ensure that the tiny minority who recklessly disregard others face the full force of the law."
Police treatment 'horrifying'
The government has estimated that four deaths on UK roads last year were caused by cyclists."The way Wiltshire Police treated Diana's death was horrifying and it's a huge relief that police will now have to treat cycling collisions as a proper highways accident," Mr Walker said.Wiltshire Police said extensive enquires were carried out when Mrs Walker died, but an investigation concluded her death was not an unlawful killing and no action was taken against the cyclist.However, following concerns raised by the coroner at her inquest, the force said crash investigators would be sent to all serious accidents involving cyclists in future.