Something I have never seen mentioned anywhere in all the coverage we’ve had over the years is the Pont De l’Alma tunnel itself. There are no crash barriers. Drive through any underpass in London and any support pillars will be screened-off with crash barriers. Lose control of the car and you simply skid along inside the tunnel until you come to a halt. Lose control in a Paris tunnel and you run into a reinforced concrete pillar and come to a dead stop. That’s what happened to Diana, at high speed. And the final factor that makes the crash unsurvivable: she wasn’t wearing a seat belt. Those pillars are still not screened with crash barriers to this day, although I have no idea whether any motorists have been killed in similar accidents since.

Montage of photos: Top left, the crash car clearly showing the impact with the pillar. Top right and bottom left, two pictures showing the absence of crash barriers. Bottom right, a contemporary photo showing there are still no barriers there. (photos: www.usatoday.com, www.abc.net.au, www.telegraph.co.uk, www.jellesen.dk )