Crossing the road in Britain, 1931-1976

Historical Journal

Volumn 49, Issue 2, 2006, Pages 477-496

  Moran, Joe ^a  

^a LIVERPOOL JOHN MOORES UNIVERSITY   (United Kingdom)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

CULTURAL HISTORY; POLITICAL HISTORY; ROAD; TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT; TRANSPORTATION POLICY;

EURASIA; EUROPE; UNITED KINGDOM; WESTERN EUROPE;

EID: 33745064295     PISSN: 0018246X     EISSN: 14695103     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1017/S0018246X06005292     Document Type: Article

References (136)

1. Alan Irwin, Risk and the control of technology: Public policies for road traffic safety in Britain and the United States (Manchester, 1985), p. 88
2. William Plowden, The motor car and politics in Britain (Harmondsworth, 1973) p. 342.
3. Raymond Flower and Michael Wynn Jones, 100 years of motoring: An RAC social history of the car (Maidenhead, 1981), p. 20.
4. Sean O'Connell, The car in British society: Class, gender and motoring, 1896-1939 (Manchester, 1998), p. 1.
5. Ibid., pp. 127, 140.
6. 'The Pedestrians' Association', Times, 5 Nov. 1929.
7. [Ministry of transport], The highway code (London, 1931), p. 1.
8. Ibid., p. 14.
9. Ibid., p. 3.
10. 'The worst week on the roads', Daily Telegraph, 4 Jan. 1935.
11. Major C. V. Godfrey, Roadsense for children (Oxford, 1937), p. 8.
12. [Department of transport], 'Road accidents and casualties: 1926-1995', in Transport statistics Great Britain, 1996 (London, 1996), p. 184.
13. Peter Thorold, The motoring age: The automobile and Britain, 1896-1939 (London, 2003), p. 202.
14. S. W. Richards for secretary, the divisional road engineers, London division, ministry of transport, 1934, London, National Archives (NA), MEPO 2/4705.
15. Ibid.
16. 'Belisha beacons being made', Gaumont British News, 21 Jan. 1935, issue no. 111
17. 'Manufacture of Belisha beacons', Pathé Super Sound Gazette, 21 Jan. 1935, super issue no. 35-6.
18. Belisha: Rules [rules for a card game made by Castell Bros.] (London, 1937).
19. Thorold, The motoring age, p. 206.
20. 'Pedestrian beacons: Official reply to criticism', Times, 20 Sept. 1934.
21. Thorold, The motoring age, p. 206.
22. 'The joke (children's tale)', Punch, 21 Nov. 1934, p. 583.
23. 'Worst week on record for road deaths: 27 a day during Christmas', Daily Telegraph, 4 Jan. 1935.
24. Letters in Daily Telegraph, 7 Jan. 1935.
25. 'Road control run riot: Motorists' fears, more rights for the pedestrian', Daily Mail, 14 Sept. 1934.
26. 'They laugh at him: But the name Belisha is now part of the language', Daily Sketch, 14 Jan. 1935.
27. 'They still don't know the answer', Daily Mail, 21 Dec. 1938.
28. 'Don't embarrass motorists! Walkers may face new dangers at road crossings', Daily Sketch, 21 Dec. 1938.
29. Plowden, The motor car and politics, p. 280.
30. O'Connell, The car in British society, pp. 113-14.
31. Plowden, The motor car and politics, p. 258
32. O'Connell, The car in British society, p. 126.
33. 'National "Safety First" Association: Summary of draft scheme for conduct of an educational campaign against accidents', July 1933, NA, MT 34/142
34. Godfrey, Roadsense for children, p. 33
35. 'Recommendation of committee on road safety among school children', circular 1449, 1932-4, NA, ED 11/189.
36. Godfrey, Roadsense for children, pp. 28-9.
37. Ibid., p. 53.
38. Ibid., p. 57.
39. Ibid., pp. 57-8.
40. Ibid., pp. 37-8.
41. Ibid. p. 42.
42. O'Connell, the car in British society, p. 129.
43. Report of proceedings of the National Safety Congress 1936, held in London 20-22 May, organised by the National 'Safety First' Association (London, 1936), p. 57.
44. Godfrey, Roadsense for children, pp. 17-18.
45. 'A mile of pedestrian barriers', Times, 28 May 1936.
46. 'How not to cross the road', Times, 9 Oct. 1936.
47. Report by the select committee of the House of Lords on the prevention of road accidents, chaired by Lord Alness (London, 1939) pp. 9-13.
48. Ibid., p. 9.
49. Ibid., p. 33.
50. Juliet Gardiner, Wartime: Britain, 1939-1945 (London, 2004), p. 52.
51. [Department of transport], 'Road accidents and casualties: 1926-1995', p. 184.
52. Gardiner, Wartime, p. 50.
53. Peter Hennessy, Never Again: Britain, 1945-1951 (London, 1993), p. 89.
54. 'Kerb drill', British Movietone News, 14 June 1945, issue no. 836A.
55. [Ministry of transport], Final report of the committee on road safety, May 1947 (London, 1947), p. 9.
56. J. S. Dean, Murder most foul ... a study of the road deaths problem (London, 1947), p. 74.
57. Ibid., p. 8.
58. See ministry of war transport display advertising in the Times, 4 Mar. 1946, and 27 Mar. 1946.
59. Unreferenced press clippings from the Central Office of Information, 'Ministry of transport, road safety campaign; J. Walter Thompson and Co. Ltd., 1947', NA, INF 2/132.
60. Pedestrian Crossing (dir. Michael Law, 1948).
61. [Ministry of transport], Final report of the committee on road safety, p. 12.
62. George Charlesworth, A history of the transport and road research laboratory, 1933-1983 (Aldershot, 1987), pp. 104-6.
63. Ibid., p. 108.
64. Ibid.
65. 'Watch on road crossings: New types tested', Times, 5 Apr. 1949.
66. [Ministry of transport], Final report of the committee on road safety, p. 53.
67. 'Pains and penalties for pedestrians', Times, 17 Nov. 1950.
68. 'Art for the pedestrian', Times, 3 May 1949.
69. 'Contribution to brief for debate on private member's motion: Pedestrian crossings', Jan. 1964, NA, MT 112/167.
70. 'News in brief', Times, 3 Nov. 1951.
71. [Ministry of transport], The highway code (4th edn, London, 1954), p. 5.
72. Stuart R. de la Mahotière, 'Beacons at crossings' (letter), Times, 31 Oct. 1953.
73. 'Let's have some blinking discipline', Yorkshire Post, 13 Jan. 1954.
74. [Department of the environment], Pedestrian safety (London, 1973), p. 16.
75. See 'Protecting the children: Lessons in road safety', Times, 29 Dec. 1949
76. and 'Road safety for children', Times, 27 Mar. 1950.
77. Anne Agar, 'Tufty teaches safety', Daily Sketch, 15 Nov. 1962.
78. [Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents], 'Road safety for the Tufty Club: Lecture notes', n.d., NA, MT92/94.
79. Ibid.
80. Elsie B. Mills, Seven day by day stories about Tufty (London, 1963).
81. 'Draft letter to the treasury: Road safety publicity', 1967, n.d., NA, MT 92/411.
82. 'Parliamentary secretary's meeting with Mr. Huber, features editor, Safety and Rescue, on Monday, 17 Apr. 1967: Brief for the parliamentary secretary', NA, MT 112/167.
83. Road hog - don't be rude on the roads (Central Office of Information, 1960).
84. Pedestrian crossing - Ken Dodd (Central Office of Information, 1963).
85. [Department of the environment], Pedestrian safety, p. 21.
86. This footage can be accessed on the BBC 'On this day' website at (accessed by the author on 3 July 2004).
87. '"Pandas" start pulsating: New crossings', Guardian, 3 Apr. 1962.
88. 'Drivers hesitate at panda crossings', Times, 4 Apr. 1962.
89. '"Pandas" bring road jams: Two-pace amber lights confuse', Daily Telegraph, 2 Apr. 1962.
90. 'Shaky start for panda crossings', Times, 3 Apr. 1962.
91. 'Does a faulty panda become a zebra?', Times, 18 May 1962.
92. 'London experiment in pedestrian control', Times, 6 Sept. 1962.
93. Letters in the Times, 10 Sept. 1962.
94. Martin Wainwright, 'Zebras get the hump', Guardian, 19 Aug. 1986.
95. 'Comments on the draft Pelican Crossing regulations 1969', 11 June 1969, NA, MT/112/317.
96. [Ministry of transport], Traffic in towns: A study of the long-term problems of traffic in urban areas (London, 1963).
97. A. M. Mackie and S. J. Older, 'Study of pedestrian risk in crossing busy roads in London's inner suburbs', Traffic Engineering and Control, Oct. 1965, pp. 376-80
98. G. D. Jacobs, 'Pedestrian behaviour on a length of road containing guard rails', Traffic Engineering and Control, Jan. 1966, pp. 556-65
99. J. M. Bayley, 'Pedestrians and traffic signals', Traffic Engineering and Control, Sept. 1966, pp. 311-12, 323.
100. [Ministry of transport], Report of the traffic signs committee, 18 April 1963 (London, 1963), p. 59.
101. Michael Braham, 'X-ways are diabolical!', Reading Evening Post, 23 Mar. 1967, NA, MT 96/168.
102. Town and around, BBC1, 6 Mar. 1967, transcript in NA, MT 96/168.
103. 'Notes on demonstration and discussion concerning modified push button pedestrian crossing equipment', 27 Aug. 1964, NA, MT 112/167.
104. T. G. Usborne, 'Views on "X-way" crossings since coming into operation on 6 March 1967', 16 Jan. 1968, NA, MT 96/247.
105. 'Views on X-way crossings since coming into operation on 6 March 1967', n.d., NA, MT 96/247.
106. J. Mellor to Mr Morris, 9 July 1968, NA, MT 96/247.
107. C. Jamieson to J. Mellor, 4 July 1968, NA, MT 96/247.
108. 'Pelican crossing: Brief for minister', n.d., NA, MT/112/317.
109. 'Road safety publicity: A propoBal for a sustained campaign: brief for the minister', 9 Jan. 1967, NA, MT 92/411.
110. Pelican crossing - pedestrians - cast of 'Dad's army' (Central Office of Information, 1974).
111. Pelican crossing song - Paul Greenwood (Central Office of Information, 1976).
112. 'Pelican crossing: Brief for minister', n.d., NA, MT/112/317.
113. Ministry of transport, 'Minutes of the first working party meeting to discuss publicity arrangements for the "X-way" pedestrian crossing', 13 July 1966, NA, MT 96/168.
114. E. M. Cawkell, 'The green cross code', Traffic engineering and control, July 1971, p. 116.
115. [Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents], 'Road safety for the Tufty Club', NA, MT 92/94.
116. A. Singh, 'Pedestrian education', in Anthony Chapman, Frances M. Wade, and Hugh C. Foot, eds., Pedestrian accidents (Chichester, 1982), pp. 79-81.
117. Ibid., p. 94.
118. Children's heroes - Joe Bugner (Central Office of Information, 1976), Children's heroes - Alvin Stardust (Central Office of Information, 1976), Children's heroes - Mud (Central Office of Information, 1976), Children's heroes - Kevin Keegan (Central Office of Information, 1976).
119. Green Cross Code (1) - Dave Prowse (Central Office of Information, 1975), Green Cross Code (2) - Dave Prowse (Central Office of Information, 1976), Green Cross Code (3) - Dave Prowse (Central Office of Information, 1976), Green Cross Code - Tony gets it right (Central Office of Information, 1976).
120. Splink - Jon Pertwee (Central Office of Information, 1976).
121. 'Ministry's new safety drill is "inadequate"', Times, 11 June 1971.
122. Irwin, Risk and the control of technology, p. 102.
123. Mike Michael, Reconnecting culture, technology and nature: From society to heterogeneity (London, 2000), pp. 24, 131.
124. Ash Amin and Nigel Thrift, Cities: Reimagining the urban (Cambridge, 2002), p. 26.
125. Susan Stewart, On longing: Narratives of the miniature, the gigantic, the souvenir, the collection (Durham, NC, 1993) p. 14.
126. [Department of the environment], 'Fatal and serious road casualties: children 5-14 years', in Transport statistics Great Britain, 1964-1974 (London, 1976), p. 137.
127. [Department of transport], 'Road accidents and casualties: 1926-1995', pp. 184-5.
128. Clive Emsley, '"Mother, what did policemen do when there weren't any motors?": The law, the police and the regulation of motor traffic in England, 1900-1939', Historical Journal, 36 (1993), pp. 357-81, at p. 357.
129. Irwin, Risk and the control of technology, p. 95.
130. Plowden, The motor car and politics, pp. 3, 17.
131. Ibid., p. 392.
132. See O'Connell, The car in British society, pp. 113, 132-3, 218.
133. 'Pelican crossing: Brief for minister', n.d., NA, MT 112/317.
134. See, for example, 'Report on Panda Crossing trials, 1964,', n.d., NA, MT 112/167.
135. Diane E. Firth, 'Children's knowledge of the Green Cross Code and kerb drill', Transport and road research laboratory technical note no. 791 (Crowthorne, 1973)
136. Diane E. Firth, 'The road safety aspects of the Tufty Club', Transport and road research laboratory report no. 604 (Crowthorne, 1973).