Letter: First car victim

Sir: Next month sees the centenary of Britain's first fatal car crash. On 12 February 1898 Henry Lindfield, a Brighton businessman, smashed his speeding car into a tree near Purley, Surrey.

Russell Hill Road is still a dangerous, winding road. It now bears the signs "care, speed humps" and leads into the busy red route at Purley Corner.

A simple prayer vigil will be held at the site at midday on the centenary to remember all who have died on our roads over the past century, estimated at half a million people. A century after Lindfield's death, we have still not yet learnt how to tame speeding drivers.

A PORTER

London W2