The Road Research Laboratory’s Traffic and Safety Division, established in Langley in 1946, was tasked with improving road safety in post‑war Britain. Slough was chosen because it was a compact, typical British town with busy roads, growing traffic, and a mix of pedestrians, cyclists, and vehicles — ideal for controlled experiments.

🦓 The First Zebra Crossing (1951)

Before the 1950s, pedestrian crossings were marked only by metal studs and simple roadside poles — often invisible in poor weather. The RRL developed a new high‑visibility design and trialled several versions in Slough in 1951.

• The first zebra crossing in the UK was laid out in Slough on 31 October 1951.
• It was part of a series of RRL experiments to find the safest, most visible crossing style.
• The exact site has since been pedestrianised, so the original crossing no longer survives.

These trials proved the zebra crossing was the most effective design, leading to nationwide adoption.

🧪 The Slough Experiment (1955–1957)

In 1954, the Minister of Transport selected Slough for a major live‑environment study of new road‑safety measures. The experiment ran from 2 April 1955 to 31 March 1957 and involved the RRL, Slough Borough Council, Buckinghamshire Police, the Ministry of Transport, and the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents.

Innovations tested included:

• Linked traffic lights (first in the UK)
• 20 mph and 40 mph speed limits (first use nationally)
• Yield/Give Way signs (prototype of the modern sign)
• Single yellow “no waiting” lines
• Pedestrian “keep left” systems
• Improved junction layouts
• Enhanced pedestrian crossings (building on the 1951 zebra trials)

The town was branded “Safety Town”, with posters, leaflets, and even a road‑safety song taught in schools and played in cinemas.

Impact

The experiment produced a 10% reduction in serious injuries and fatalities, proving that coordinated engineering, signage, and education could significantly improve safety.

🚴 Why This Mattered Nationally

By the mid‑1950s, Slough’s roads were under huge pressure — the Trading Estate employed tens of thousands, and up to 10,000 cyclists travelled daily between work and home. This made Slough an ideal “living laboratory” for testing new systems that would later be rolled out across the UK.

🏁 Legacy

Many everyday features of British roads — zebra crossings, linked traffic lights, Give Way signs, yellow lines, and modern pedestrian‑flow systems — were shaped or proven in Slough. The town’s role in road‑safety history is now widely recognised as pioneering.

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