Michael Pringle said he was left shocked after hearing about Freddie Dentskevich, who was injured in an alleged hit and run with a van in St Martin while riding his bike.
Passers-by found the boy, who was aged 14 at the time, lying unconscious in a pool of blood.
Charges were never brought against the driver as the Law Officers’ Department deemed there was ‘no realistic prospect of conviction’.
They added that, under the law, because the driver claimed they did not realise they had hit and caused injury to someone, they did not commit an offence when they drove away. There were also no witnesses to the collision.
Freddie’s mother, Joanna, launched a petition to change the law to afford cyclists and other vulnerable road users more protection and it gained over 3,700 signatures. It became known as Freddie’s Law.
Infrastructure Minister Kevin Lewis subsequently said his department would commit to a review of the Island’s road safety laws.
The driver who struck Clinton outside the Millennium Town Park received a suspended sentence for careless driving.
Mr Pringle said he did not think the problem with road safety legislation lay with the content of the law but instead how it was applied.
Speaking about Freddie’s case, he said: ‘There was a bit of disbelief about it all. I just thought “here we go again”.
‘I have seen some similarities between Freddie’s case and what happened with Clinton. Probably the main difference seems to be that there was a failure of the police to investigate the incident properly whereas I thought the police did a relatively good job in Clinton’s case and did what they could.
‘I was absolutely astounded when I read the evidence in the press about the van having a cracked windscreen, blood on the windscreen and other damage to the vehicle.
‘I was just absolutely shocked they did not think there was a realistic chance of a successful prosecution but nothing surprises me in Jersey.’
He added: ‘Do I think a law change will make any difference? No. I have no faith in the justice system in Jersey and I think this just compounds what I felt before. The law can be tightened up but it will not make any difference if it is not applied correctly. If they are not applied correctly then it will not make any difference what the law says.’
Despite this, Mr Pringle said he thought the laws governing mobile phone use in vehicles should be looked at. Currently, motorists are able to hold their devices if their vehicles are stationary.
However, in the UK, no one is allowed to hold a mobile phone while behind the wheel, regardless of whether their vehicle is stopped.
‘There are less instances here [in the UK] now of people using their mobile phones while driving and people challenge drivers who they see using their mobile phone. But the law is slightly different in Jersey and you are allowed to hold your mobile phone while stopped at traffic lights which is absolute nonsense,’ he said.
