On November 29, I was walking along the pavement on Republic Street, Victoria, minding my own business. It was 11.30am and the start of the Christmas season.

There were many people about and lots of traffic when, suddenly, a car reversed, mounted the pavement and hit me at some speed. I fell and was gradually pressed against the wall until the car finally moved forward.

I was grievously injured, suffering multiple fractures but lucky to be alive. Now, I am in pain and bedridden, with ruined plans, a long period in hospital and a lonely Christmas ahead.

The chances of long-term problems worry me continually.

I ask the authorities a simple question: why are core village centres and busy shopping areas still open to traffic? Distracted drivers and unreliable cars will always be with us but we have a duty to protect pedestrians as best we can.

So, please, act immediately. Horrible accidents like mine can so easily be avoided.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.