A cycling lobby group is calling on the authorities to appeal a suspended sentence handed to a drunk driver convicted of the manslaughter of a cyclist in 2006.

Fadla-Lah Mohammed Ahmed Moh Bahkret died in the accident that occurred in Aviation Street, Gudja, when his bicycle was hit by a VW Passat car driven by Eric Zammit at around 5.30pm on December 8.

Bicycling Advocacy Group spokesman Jim Wightman said when contacted the accident should not be brushed off as “just another migrant’s death”.

BAG was mainly concerned about faulty road infrastructure that cyclists were expected to use, especially considering that a lot of migrants cycled to and from Ħal Far, Mr Wightman added.

In handing down judgment earlier this week, Magistrate Ian Farrugia noted that Mr Zammit was 20 years old at the time of the accident and his car was moving at 68 kilometres an hour – a “moderate” speed.

The bike had no lights on and the cyclist was not using the parallel service road used by pedestrians and cyclists. The court observed that Mr Zammit was driving under the influence of alcohol, was not insured and had been conditionally discharged in another case six months earlier.

It held the driver mainly responsible for the accident due to his carelessness and lack of attention. However, the magistrate added, in not using the service road, the cyclist was also partly responsible.

In an e-mail sent to the Attorney General and the Police Commissioner, BAG’s president, Saviour Agius, said the group “would like to see an appeal on this case because we believe that the court has based its decisions on statements that are either inaccurate or simply not true, which attribute guilt to the victim”.

Among others, Mr Agius noted that while the cyclist was not using lights, the incident happened during twilight, which lasts till 5.48pm around that time of the year.

It was also said in court that visibility was good, the area was well lit and the driver actually saw the victim.

Since the cyclist was seen by the driver, the lack of lights should not have been considered as one of the factors that contributed to the accident, he argued.

Referring to the “so-called service road”, he noted that this was nothing but a pavement with a one-way cycle track in the direction of Luqa, starting on Ħal Far Road – the opposite direction of where the cyclist was heading.

“Moreover, there is and was no safe way of crossing from the Ħal Far-bound lane to the pavement on the other side of the road from where the cyclist was coming.

“Had he actually managed to get to this track and cycled on it wrong way, as the court seems to think he should have done, he would’ve been breaking the law.

“Also there are, and were, no signs informing cyclists to actually cross to the other side of the road and use the so-called service road the wrong way as one would expect in such a situation.”

Referring to car’s speed, Mr Agius questioned how, in such conditions, a speed of 68 kilometres an hour could be considered “moderate”. The road, he pointed out, had a speed limit of 60 kilometres an hour, which was meant for dry conditions.

“Being over the speed limit in wet conditions while drunk and also uninsured and, yet, claiming that his speed was moderate and that there was no excessive speeding beggars belief,” Mr Agius said.

Since the driver was not insured and was also drunk, he should have never been behind the wheel, he insisted.

Had he not broken every law in the book by driving his car that day, Mr Moh Bahkret would still be alive today, he added.