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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/aug/17/charlie-alliston-london-cyclist-front-brake-collision-kim-briggs-old-bailey
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| London cyclist tells court front brake would not have prevented fatal crash | London cyclist tells court front brake would not have prevented fatal crash |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A cyclist accused of killing a woman by ploughing into her on a track bicycle has told a court that having a front brake would not have prevented the collision. | A cyclist accused of killing a woman by ploughing into her on a track bicycle has told a court that having a front brake would not have prevented the collision. |
| Charlie Alliston, then 18, was said to have been travelling at 18mph before he struck Kim Briggs, 44, as she crossed Old Street in central London on 12 February 2016. | Charlie Alliston, then 18, was said to have been travelling at 18mph before he struck Kim Briggs, 44, as she crossed Old Street in central London on 12 February 2016. |
| Alliston was riding a “fixie”, a fixed-gear track bicycle, which is not legal on the road without a front brake. | Alliston was riding a “fixie”, a fixed-gear track bicycle, which is not legal on the road without a front brake. |
| He said he had used a similar bike, without a front brake, while working for at least three different courier companies in the months before the collision. | He said he had used a similar bike, without a front brake, while working for at least three different courier companies in the months before the collision. |
| If Alliston’s bike had had such a brake, he would have been able to avoid the collision with the HR consultant, Duncan Penny QC, prosecuting, previously told the Old Bailey in London. | If Alliston’s bike had had such a brake, he would have been able to avoid the collision with the HR consultant, Duncan Penny QC, prosecuting, previously told the Old Bailey in London. |
| Alliston, 20, of Bermondsey, south London, has denied a charged under the 1861 Offences Against the Person Act of causing bodily harm by wanton or furious driving. In a legal first, he also faces an additional charge of the manslaughter of Briggs, a mother of two from Lewisham, south-east London. | Alliston, 20, of Bermondsey, south London, has denied a charged under the 1861 Offences Against the Person Act of causing bodily harm by wanton or furious driving. In a legal first, he also faces an additional charge of the manslaughter of Briggs, a mother of two from Lewisham, south-east London. |
| Giving evidence, Alliston said he did not know a front brake was a legal requirement and insisted that having one would not have made a difference when he saw Briggs step into the road holding a mobile phone. | Giving evidence, Alliston said he did not know a front brake was a legal requirement and insisted that having one would not have made a difference when he saw Briggs step into the road holding a mobile phone. |
| “I tried to go around,” he said. “Having a brake, I wouldn’t have had enough time to pull it. It was a few split seconds prior to the impact, which caused the impact, so a brake at the time wouldn’t have made a difference.” | “I tried to go around,” he said. “Having a brake, I wouldn’t have had enough time to pull it. It was a few split seconds prior to the impact, which caused the impact, so a brake at the time wouldn’t have made a difference.” |
| The defendant had been riding a black Planet X carbon frame bicycle, a type more commonly seen racing at the Olympic velodrome, jurors were previously told. | The defendant had been riding a black Planet X carbon frame bicycle, a type more commonly seen racing at the Olympic velodrome, jurors were previously told. |
| Briggs, who had been on her lunch break, sustained “catastrophic” head injuries and died in hospital a week after the incident. | Briggs, who had been on her lunch break, sustained “catastrophic” head injuries and died in hospital a week after the incident. |
| Alliston, wearing a white shirt and jeans, told the jury he had worked as a courier for three different companies based in central London for around six to eight months from mid-2015. | |
| He told the court he was never made aware of the legal requirement to have a front brake, adding he never had an accident in the course of his work. | |
| His barrister, Mark Wyeth QC, asked: “Were you aware at any point in your life up to the collision on 12 February 2016 that there was this regulation that ‘fixies’ had to have a front brake?” | |
| “No,” said Alliston. | |
| In January last year, Alliston bought a £700 Planet X bike second-hand for £470, telling the vendor he used to be a courier and wanted to use it for track cycling. | |
| Alliston told the court, under cross examination by prosecutor Duncan Penny QC, he had never ridden on a track. | |
| Jurors were told that Alliston talked of removing his front brake from an earlier bike – a Cinelli – in a tweet in February 2015, comparing the experience of riding it to being in a “Lucas Brunelle movie”. | |
| The court heard that Brunelle makes “alleycat” videos, in which he rides around cities including London “doing dangerous stuff” such as weaving in and out of traffic, narrowly avoiding pedestrians and going into bus lanes. | |
| But Alliston, who admitted not wearing a helmet, denied copying the film-maker, or enjoying taking risks. | |
| “I wouldn’t say I drove recklessly or at any time dangerously,” he said. “At all times I would know what I’m doing and be completely responsible for my actions.” | |
| He added: “I did not get a kick or enjoyment out of not being safe.” | |
| The trial continues. | The trial continues. |