London’s Abbey Road is probably the most famous, and Munich had the first in what was then West Germany. On July 18, 70 years ago, twelve zebra crossings were marked in Bavaria’s state capital – a first in Germany; the GDR was four months earlier with a traffic test at Schöneweide station in East Berlin.
The idea came from Great Britain, where experiments were carried out in 1949 with the first crossings, which were initially marked in blue and yellow. In the same year, the United Nations defined the markings running along the roadway as pedestrian crossings. In 1952 the now white ones came zebra crossing then also in Germany. “Golden bridges for pedestrians” was the headline Southgerman newspaper back then and adopted the name “zebras” and “zebra crossing” from the English – the official name is pedestrian crossing.
The skepticism of the passers-by was great, because at first the only thing that car drivers had to do was “to make it possible for them to cross the street in an appropriate manner”. In the first few weeks, the Munich police assigned extra officers to help pedestrians across the street. Signs on the access roads warned motorists to be careful with the new markings.
Although the zebra crossing appeared in the road traffic regulations in 1953, drivers have only had to stop there since 1964. The obligation to stop meant that Berlin, for example, gradually abolished the crossings so as not to impede the flow of traffic. In the 1990s, there were just under 100 left in the capital out of more than 1,000. There are now around 600 again.
There are zebra crossings all over the world. Whether you can safely cross the street at them is a question of where you are at the moment. In many countries, car and motorcyclists see pedestrian crossings as a non-binding recommendation, despite the hefty penalties. In Thailand, for example, according to local media reports, 90 percent ignore the markings. Every year, travel portals generally warn against setting foot on the road too carelessly abroad.
It’s different in London: at the famous zebra crossing on Abbey Road, thanks to a cam observe the patience of the motorists every day, who wait patiently when tourists do this again beatles-Recreate cover from 1969 for the photo. Discipline is also good in Germany, but far from satisfactory. In 2021, 14 people died at zebra crossings in Germany, 517 were seriously injured and 3044 slightly injured. This is an improvement compared to previous numbers.
In Munich, where there are currently 400 zebra crossings, there won’t be any more in the near future. Because marking new ones is not that easy for municipalities because of a lot of rules. Among other things, at peak times, at least 50 pedestrians and 200 vehicles per hour are needed, zebra crossings are not desired in 30 km/h zones, nor near traffic lights. Incidentally, the very first zebra crossing on Neuhauser Strasse has long since disappeared; there has been a pedestrian zone there for 50 years.