  The Lorentz-Abraham-Dirac (LAD) equation has proved valuable in describing
the motion of radiating electric charges but suffers from runaway,
pre-acceleration and other ambiguities. The usual scheme is problematic because
of locality, which leads to self-interaction with the propagating radiation
(i.e. real photons). Instead, the present heuristic model relies on an
infinitesimal time delay between the action of external forces and the inertial
reaction by the charge. This yields a new and pathology-free equation of motion
whereas the radiated energy-momentum is expressed as an infinite series that
generalises Larmor's formula and leads to testable predictions using current
and near future ultra-intense lasers. The time-delay hypothesis is to be put in
parallel with recently observed delays of order $10^{-18}$s (attosecond) in
photoemission by atoms and small molecules. Such behaviour is extended here to
elementary charges which are supposed to exhibit delays given by the time taken
by light to cross the charge's classical radius, which gives $\approx
10^{-23}$s for an electron.
