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Of course it's contrived, like elements of his defence would have been.
For me the real sticking point was a lack of a brake. I think it's fair to expect a persons bike is legal.
GoatandTricycle-
I think a lot of people in his position might have done exactly the same thing - swerve to avoid rather than slam the brakes on. Pretty sure I would have, but then I have a front brake on my track bike so would hope to have avoided lack thereof being my legal undoing.
Also I'm shit at skids so with no front brake I would have been about as quick to stop as that copper on the stopping test.
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Absolutely right to
expect a persons bike is legal
we also need to expect cyclists ride cautiously and do everything possible to avoid crashes. I don't think that the cyclist who killed Nick Bancroft was prosecuted (2007). Nick stepped out onto the road then stepped back as the cyclist tried to go behind. The cyclist's bike was 'legal' but his lack of skill/care/luck led to the same outcome.
AlexD
Charlie_L
The police 'stopping distance' video is so contrived that I expect even the jury saw through it, especially if there were cyclists among them. I think the police/CPS made the decision to prosecute on the fact of his bike being brakeless=illegal and also on evidence of his online comments showing him to be unsympathetic. The police/CPS saw this as a 'winnable' case even though Charlie's comments were made before he realised the serious outcome of Kim Briggs' injury.
In a fairer world the expert evidence would recognize that brakes and stopping distance are not the crucial issue. Experienced bike and motorcycle riders know that emergency collision avoidance most often requires aiming for the gaps rather than jamming on brakes and crashing. We learn that pedestrians can step out at any time, the worst case is when they take 3 steps out, see you, then take 1 step back just as you have turned to go behind them. We learn to anticipate this 'dance of death' and that the only way to avoid such crashes is to expect them whenever pedestrians are about and ride way out from the pavement or go slower if there is less space. Charlie A is paying for his lack of experience.