Photo Benjamin Cheng / Unsplash
It’s 75 years since the first black-and-white striped crossing appeared on the roads of Britain.
The first zebra crossing was painted on Slough High Street in October 1951 in a bid to improve the UK’s road safety after a dramatic increase in traffic since the end of the war. Developed by the Road Research Laboratory, the design was approved after more than 1,000 different experimental pedestrian crossings were tested on Britain’s roads.
The unmistakable zebra stripes were chosen over blue/yellow and red/white combinations, which were also trialled. To make zebra crossings even more obvious, flashing amber Belisha beacons, which had made their debut in 1934, were also added. In the first year of operation, the Road Research Lab reported a seven per cent drop in pedestrian casualties, and soon the zebra crossing would be adopted worldwide.
In the UK alone, there are tens of thousands of zebra crossings today, while the busiest in the world is in Shibuya, Japan, which sees up to 2,500 people cross every two minutes.
Happy birthday to this monochrome life-saver!
Photo Denys Nevozhai / Unsplash
It’s 75 years since the first black and white striped crossing appeared on the roads of Britain.