Moment Lord Brocket fails to stop his moped for pedestrian on London's King's Road zebra crossing - as aristocrat has to pay £1,100
Video shows the shocking moment celebrity aristocrat Lord Charles Brocket zooms past a pedestrian at a zebra crossing on Londons Kings RoadThe 73-year-old was today convicted of failing to stop his scooter for the woman.
Video shows the shocking moment celebrity aristocrat Lord Charles Brocket zooms past a pedestrian at a zebra crossing on Londons Kings Road
The 73-year-old was today convicted of failing to stop his scooter for the woman.
He said it would have been too dangerous to make a sudden emergency stop on two wheels, arguing he was nowhere close to the woman anyway.
Lord Brocket was nonetheless found guilty of failing to accord precedence to a pedestrian on a zebra crossing in August last year.
He was fined £346, with £650 costs, plus a £138 victim surcharge - a total of £1,134 - and given three penalty points on his driving licence.
Lord Brocket, of Peterborough Road, Fulham, arrived at Wimbledon Magistrates Court on the same Piaggio scooter dressed in a grey suit, a light blue shirt and dark blue tie.
The Im A Celebrity star had been riding home through Chelsea at 6pm.
He was caught on camera by pedal cyclist Oscar Blanco, 53, who was recording traffic while on his way home to New Malden from his finance job near Marble Arch.
I saw that there was a pedestrian twenty to thirty yards away, waiting to cross, Mr Blanco said.
Lord Charles Brocket, pictured leaving Wimbledon Magistrates Court, was today convicted of failing to stop his scooter for a pedestrian at a zebra crossing
The 73-year-old, pictured outside the court today, said it would have been too dangerous to make an emergency stop
The pedestrian was already looking to the right to make safe passage across the crossing.
Mr Blanco told the trial that he came to a very slow rolling to indicate to the woman that she could cross.
There was an acknowledgement from the pedestrian, thanking me for slowing down, she mouthed "thank you."
As she started to cross, the moped rider drove through the zebra crossing without stopping.
I think I said "oh my God."
I stopped to allow the pedestrian to cross and the motorcycle didnt.
The video, from the perspective of Mr Blancos bike camera, was played to the magistrates.
A woman in a pink top is seen stepping onto the zebra crossing just before Lord Brockets motorbike speeds past.
Pedal cyclist Oscar Blanco caught the incident on his bike camera and gave evidence in court
Lord Brocket said a car in front of him had slightly obscured everything to his left
Lord Brocket had been running an errand for one of his children and was returning from department store Peter Jones, a mile away from where the incident happened.
You try to ride in the middle of the road to file past other cars if you have to, he said.
I was going down the middle of the road to the rear and right of a car that went over the crossing. I was doing the normal 20 mph.
The car in front of me slightly obscured anything to my left and when I realised the pedestrian had put her foot on the zebra crossing, the only possibility for me would have been an emergency stop.
But magistrates ruled that any motorist with an obstructed view of a zebra crossing must slow down sufficiently so they can stop safely if needed.
From the video evidence and the evidence from Mr Blanco, we are satisfied the pedestrian was on the carriageway before any part of the defendants vehicle reached the crossing, said Chairwoman Wendy Preston.
He said the car in front partially obstructed anything to his left.
If you cannot see if there is a person on the crossing you must drive in such a way that you must stop if there is a person on it.
The video, from the perspective of Mr Blancos bike camera, was played to the magistrates
A woman in a pink top is seen stepping onto the zebra crossing just before Lord Brockets motorbike speeds past
Speaking later after the guilty verdict outside the court, Lord Brocket said he understood the magistrates legal position.
Ive been a motorcyclist for over 50 years and you cannot stop at 20mph in a seventh of a second, let alone one second - you cant.
So, when somebody suddenly steps onto a zebra crossing, and youre faced with an emergency stop on two wheels, youre not going to do it.
But the law is the law. It says you have an absolute duty.
An absolute duty is an absolute duty and I can see why the magistrates just had nowhere to go on that.
In court, Lord Brocket quoted the Highway Code stopping distances, arguing they apply to four-wheel vehicles and that two-wheel vehicles do not stop as quickly.
The time between the pedestrian putting one foot on the crossing and my front wheel touching the crossing is a third of a second and the emergency stop would have taken two seconds.
I judged it too dangerous to do an emergency stop on two wheels. I drove through the middle of the crossing and was nowhere close to the pedestrian.
Lord Brocket arrived at court on the same Piaggio scooter dressed in a grey suit, a light blue shirt and dark blue tie
Speaking outside the court, he said he understood the magistrates legal decision
I judged it was unsafe to do an emergency stop. I judged it safer to carry on.
In London, you never quite know. Some people step onto a crossing and then change their mind.
I did not know she was going to cross. You never quite do.
Lord Brocket said the pedestrian put half of her right foot on as his front wheel came onto the crossing.
I had to make a quick decision and it was safer to carry on than to make an emergency stop, he said.
If you have got to do a rapid stop on two wheels, even on a dry road, youve got to know what you are doing.
I would never have stopped and I had to make a snap decision. The bike would have just skidded, even on a dry road.
You cant stop in that time and I wasnt going to risk it.