The road crossing that’s truly earned its stripes
OCT 31, 1951
THINK of a listed building and images of grand castles or historic stately homes come to mind.
But one of the most popular attractions with listed status in Britain isn’t anything quite as opulent as a manor or a stronghold.
Instead, it’s a humble zebra crossing.
The one at Abbey Road, immortalised on the cover of The Beatles’ album of the same name, has Grade II listed status and remains one of London’s mostpopular tourist attractions.
Spare a thought for the motorists using the road regularly, though, who often have to pause while people try to recreate the famous album pose for their own keepsake collection.
It was on October 31, 1951, that the first zebra crossing was officially brought into law in the UK, making the distinctivelooking traffic control 65 years old this week.
The number of vehicles on our roads after the war was on the increase, meaning there were more and more fatalities due to pedestrians still not being used to dealing with passing traffic – and vice versa.
At that point, a crossing tended only to be signified by metal studs in the ground, which wasn’t easy to see when driving.
A series of different road markings to improve safety were tried out at various locations around the country in the late 1940s.
In those early days, it was alternating strips of blue and yellow, but it was soon changed to black and white.
They were thought to be most effective because they could not only be seen from far away, giving motorists due time to stop, but also because pedestrians were easily visible when walking on them.
The person popularly accredited with coming up with the name is MP James Callaghan, who visited the Transport Research Laboratory in 1948 as the quest for a safe crossing was being worked on.
He casually remarked that it looked like a zebra’s markings and the name stuck.
The flashing amber lights at either side of the crossings are called Belisha Beacons, named after the Minister of Transport, Leslie Hore-Belisha, who introduced them to roads in the 1930s.
Usually, the road surface on the approach to the crossings is covered with Sure Grip, an anti-slip coating as an extra safety measure.
Drivers who do not adhere to the crossings can be faced with a stiff fine and three penalty points.
The zebra isn’t the only crossing with an animal theme.
There’s also pelican, puffin, toucan and pegasus crossings, but none is as distinctive – or photographed – as the zebra.
Drivers who don’t adhere to them face stiff penalties