Croydon, as the first ever place where a pedestrian died after being hit by a car, is being used by a national road safety charity for their awareness campaign.

Roadpeace, a charity for road traffic victims, will be using the death of Bridget Driscoll to highlight the number of people killed on the UK’s roads during National Road Victim Month in August.

Bridget Driscoll received instant notoriety when she stepped off the kerb in Crystal Palace and into the history books, becoming the first pedestrian in the UK to be killed by a car on August 17, 1896.

Mrs Driscoll, a resident of Croydon, was hit by a demonstration car travelling at four miles an hour. She died within minutes of receiving a head injury.

At Mrs Driscoll’s inquest, Coroner William Percy Morrison said he hoped that “such a thing would never happen again” and was the first to apply the term “accident” to violence caused by speed. Coroners across the country have followed his example since.

However, just 18 months later Purley was the location of the UK’s first fatal car smash. On February 12, 1898, Brighton businessman Henry Lindfield lost control of his speeding car and crashed into a tree on Russell Hill Road.

The 42-year-old was thrown out of the vehicle and it hit the tree, trapping him underneath. His leg was amputated at Croydon General Hospital but he died the next morning. His teenage son Bernard, who had been travelling in the car with him, escaped unhurt.

On August 31, the date of Princess Diana’s death, arguably the world’s most famous road victim, Roadpeace will be launching another hard-hitting awareness campaign, the Roadside Memorial. Friends and relatives of road victims will be encouraged to place a sign of remembrance at the scene of their loved ones’ crash.

For more details contact Roadpeace on 020 8838 5102 or www.roadpeace.org.