Zebra crossing success

There’s nothing quite like working together towards a common goal. Almost exactly one year ago, we helped Sustrans and Living Streets to campaign for a safe road crossing. We brought our inflatable pop-up zebra crossing to Barking to help local residents who were struggling in the face of road danger. It was telling that those who attended the protest ranged in age from 5 to 85. The road concerned passes both a school and daycare centre. Despite a 30 mph limit, we witnessed many vehicles travelling in excess of 40 mph.

The great news is that work has just finished on a real crossing and forms part of traffic calming measures in the area – and indeed the city as a whole. The mayor of London last summer announced a Vision Zero – an initiative that aims to eliminate all road deaths and serious injuries from London’s transport network by 2041.

The freshly painted real zebra crossing

Of course, safe crossings are only a very tiny part of the solution to the road danger that plagues the lives of millions. They do not replace the need for a holistic solution – a systematic approach to the reduction of road danger involving well-designed infrastructure, legal framework, enforcement and education.

The Vision Zero Action Plan for London

• Safe speeds: Encouraging speeds appropriate to the streets of a busy and populated city through the widespread introduction of new lower speed limits

• Safe streets: Designing an environment that is forgiving of mistakes by transforming junctions, which see the majority of collisions, and ensuring safety is at the forefront of all design schemes

• Safe vehicles: Reducing risk posed by the most dangerous vehicles by introducing a world-leading Bus Safety Standard across London’s entire bus fleet and a new ‘Direct Vision Standard’ for Heavy Goods Vehicles

• Safe behaviours: Reducing the likelihood of road users making mistakes or behaving in a way that is risky for themselves and other people through targeted enforcement, marketing campaigns, education programmes and safety training for cyclists, motorcycle and moped riders

• Post-collision response: Developing systematic information sharing and learning, along with improving justice and care for the victims of traffic incidents

Your Journey Our world

The ETA was established in 1990 as an ethical provider of green, reliable travel services. 29 years on, we continue to offer cycle insurance, travel insurance and breakdown cover  and home insurance while putting concern for the environment at the heart of all we do.