The widow of cyclist Clifford Micallef, who was killed while riding along the Coast Road in 2009, says the family is “satisfied” with the three-year prison sentence given to the driver behind the hit-and-run incident.

The punishment for involuntary homicide handed down on Friday to Anthony Taliana was pounced upon by commentators on social media, who said it was not harsh enough.

However, Shirley Micallef yesterday said the family felt that justice had been served and she saw the conviction as a sign of progress in the prosecution of those responsible for such crimes.

Since Mr Micallef’s death, two other cyclists have lost their lives in road accidents.

Asked about the comments on social media, Ms Micallef admitted that she had been warned by lawyers that the outcome of the case was to be expected, given the legal parameters involved. Otherwise, she too would have been outraged.

READ: 'May my father's death make our roads safer'

“I had been warned from the start not to expect more and the reality is that there are people who get away with less, so we are satisfied,” Ms Micallef said.

She was quick to add, however, that together with her three sons, she hopes that the discussion sparked by the judgment will shine a brighter light on the issue and that lawmakers would consider updating the law to make it tougher in such cases.

It was, however, the people who needed to push for the change, Ms Micallef went on, adding that she had already been in touch with the Bicycling Advocacy Group to discuss the matter.

“I am ready to work on taking this further but even if at least the public realises that there is a price to pay for such actions, then that is already a step forward.”

The whole family, however, refuse to ride a bicycle. Ms Micallef admitted that the only time she had been on two wheels since her husband was killed, was while abroad, in Italy.

“Just yesterday, as I was driving to court, I saw this cyclist and immediately I thought he must be crazy. Our roads offer no protection and drivers do not respect cyclists. Apart from stricter laws, we also need a change in mentality,” Ms Micallef insisted.

The accident that killed Mr Micallef occurred on July 30 at around 5.15am, when Mr Taliana, who was 21 at the time, was driving a British girlfriend to her residence in Buġibba after a night out in Paceville.

Manoeuvring a bend a few metres away from the White Rocks Complex entrance, the driver of the Opel Astra crashed into the cyclist, who was flung onto the car roof and windscreen before being thrown onto the road. He died on the spot.

The court found that Mr Taliana had not only failed to keep a proper lookout but drove on after the collision instead of stopping to offer first aid or call for help. He had ignored his friend’s pleadings to stop, later went to sleep and allowed his father to face the police in an attempt to shoulder the blame, in behaviour the court said was not to be tolerated.

There had been no contributory negligence on the part of the cyclist: the driver was all to blame, the court ruled.

Apart from the three-year jail term, the court also banned Mr Taliana from driving for one year.