DANGEROUS cycling could be prosecuted in the same way as dangerous driving under new laws proposed by ministers.

The proposals follow the death in February 2016 of 44-year-old mother-of-two Kim Briggs, who was knocked over and killed by a London bicycle courier. The cyclist, Charlie Alliston, was prosecuted under Victorian laws of causing bodily harm by wanton and furious driving.

The 12-week consultation on the proposed law has been welcomed by victim Kim’s husband Matt: “This public consultation is an important step towards updating the arcane laws that are currently being used to prosecute cycling offences.”

Cyclists can currently be prosecuted for riding without due care and attention. Last month, North Swindon cyclist Thomas Michael Chapman, 22, was fined £100 and ordered to pay £200 for hitting a pedestrian as he pedalled too fast along the pavement on Cheney Manor Road. 

Campaigners have accused the government of “tinkering around the edges”. Of 448 pedestrians killed on Britain’s roads in 2016, only three cases involved bicycles.

Duncan Dollimore, head of campaigns at Cycling UK, branded the system by which dangerous or careless drivers are prosecuted a lottery that left relatives feeling let down.

He added: “Adding one or two new offences specific to cyclists would be merely tinkering around the edges.

“If the government is serious about addressing behaviour that puts others at risk on our roads, they should grasp the opportunity to do the job properly, rather than attempt to patch up an area of legislation that’s simply not working.”

Becky Cox of the Swindon Cycle Campaign said: "Whilst anyone who is behaving in a way which endangers others should be punished, this seems a little irrelevant in the grand scheme of things when an average of 99.4 per cent of pedestrian fatalities are caused by motor vehicles and roughly three pedestrians a year are killed by someone on a bike.

"We believe that more time and resources should be focused on making streets safer for everyone by reviewing offenses made by all road users, not just cyclists." 

The government has also announced proposals to update the Highway Code to combat the so-called close passing of cyclists.

Last year, an operation by Wiltshire Police traffic specialists Tri-Force saw motorists pulled over along County Road if they drove too close to cyclists. Sgt Warren Knight said: “We are not here just to target motorists, but to encourage people to get used to sharing the road space.”