Zebra Crossings: Freedom, Safety and British Science in Black and White! episode artwork

EPISODE · May 22, 2026 · 53 MIN

Zebra Crossings: Freedom, Safety and British Science in Black and White!

from Garlic & Pearls

How, wonders Suzanne, did Britain come to gift the Big Z to the entire world? And how did Britain become a place where pedestrians can expect, in most cases, to find a crossing in the right place? The presence of zebra crossings is the fruit of a long evolution involving bitter parliamentary debates and the tension between limiting speed and protecting an Englishman's freedom of the highway. We meet the transformative figures of Leslie Hore-Belisha, inventor of the driving test and the flashing Belisha beacon, and Dr George Charlesworth, – aka 'Dr Zebra' – whose studies in contrast perception led to Britain leading the way in road safety worldwide: 'Listener, if you seek his monument, look around you.' Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published May 22, 2026

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Zebra Crossings: Freedom, Safety and British Science in Black and White!

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