Cyclists Defence Fund backs cyclist as they go through the courts
At 9.30am yesterday (Wednesday 17 December) Kristian Gregory turned up at Bromley Crown Court, London to plead "not guilty” to an alleged offence for which he had been issued with a £50 Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) in July 2014. He will now face a court appearance on 05 February 2015. His defence is being supported by the Cyclists' Defence Fund (CDF).
Kristian’s received his ticket from the Metropolitan Police after he strayed over the white line marking a woefully sub-standard cycle track. After Kristian posted his helmet camera footage of the incident, Cllr Mark Williams, transport portfolio-holder for Southwark Council (the London borough where the incident took place), took up his cause, with the Met then promising to ease off 'over-zealous' enforcement at this spot. CTC has previously reported on this case here.
Since CDF took up Kristian’s appeal, the public has shown their support for him and CDF’s fight against unfair FPNs by donating over £2,600, not just for this case but for others like it.
CTC, Sustrans, the London Cycling Campaign and RoadPeace have now joined CDF in writing to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), urging them to drop this case as not being in the public interest, given the triviality of the alleged offence and the lack of legal clarity about where cycling is permitted at this location, due to poor signing.
The Metropolitan police and the CPS need to take a serious look at their priorities.”
Kristian Gregory
Speaking about the ongoing legal proceedings, Kristian said: “The CPS has decided to proceed to prosecute me for cycling on the footway despite the obvious lack of any public interest in doing so. I have been reading about the case of cyclist Michael Mason, killed by a car whose driver admitted she had no reason not to see him, yet this has been judged not worthy of prosecution. This makes the CPS decision to push ahead with my prosecution that much harder to understand.”
In contrast to Kristian’s case, the driver of the Nissan car which hit 70-year old cyclist Michael Mason on 25 February 2014 has escaped prosecution, with the Police not even referring the case to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), in an apparent clear breach of CPS guidelines. Following discussion with Mr Mason’s family and with CTC ambassador Martin Porter QC (who represented the family at the inquest), CDF has confirmed that it is investigating how best it can provide support at this time.
On the same day (17 December), CTC's Road Justice campaigner Rhia Weston joined CTC Vice-President Lord Berkeley in a meeting with Mike Penning MP, Minister of State for Policing, Criminal Justice and Victims. See her report of the meeting.
You can make an online donation to the CDF to support its work on cycling and the law - such as challenging unduly lenient law-enforcement of dangerous drivers, unjust prosecutions of cyclists, and highway and planning decisions which disregard cyclists' needs. Or see information on other ways to donate to CDF here.
