Sir, – Please may I, through your pages, make an apology. I want to apologise to the elderly lady whose car, being driven with two wheels on the pavement, hit my arm from behind as I walked up Downing Street on Tuesday in the late morning. When I caught up with her in a queue just round the corner in West Street, I remonstrated with her in a raised voice, for which I am sorry. I only did so because of the combination of surprise at the incident itself, and anger that she did not attempt to stop afterwards. I would also like to apologise to the other pedestrians who may have heard my bad language when I retaliated to the road rage of the following male motorist who was held up for some 20 seconds by the incident. That said, the lady driver should feel lucky that I have not reported the accident to the police. The combined facts that she had a left eye which appeared to be defective and was, apparently, completely unaware of the incident despite her door mirror being folded inwards by the impact, suggest to me that she should visit an optician for confirmation of whether (or not) her sight is adequate for driving. The impact on my arm luckily only resulted in minor bruising, but a child's face would have been at that height and the consequences then could have been much worse. As for the bad-mannered following driver, the delay only meant that he rejoined the queue some 10 yards further along and I offer no apology to him; instead I offer some advice – that he should consult his GP to find a suitable anger-management programme before he hurts someone. Lastly, another piece of advice, this time to Surrey County Council: please urgently implement your plan for single-lane traffic in Downing Street so that people can have adequate and safe pavement widths before a serious accident happens here. Name and address supplied
