The announcement by the Ministry of Transport confirmed the new 'panda' crossings would be installed on a 12 month experimental basis because of the rising number of accidents on uncontrolled zebra crossings.

In the first half of last year, 533 people were killed or injured on zebra crossings - compared with 447 for the same period in 1959.

The new push button-controlled crossings will be introduced at between 40 and 50 sites in England and Wales.

Half the crossings will be installed where there are none in existence at all at the moment. The remainder will be placed in Guildford in Surrey where all 13 crossings will be converted to the new push button variety, and Lincoln, Lincolnshire, where 10 will be converted.

Transport Minister Ernest Marples - who announced the initiative - said he hoped by imposing an element of control over pedestrian crossings, "some of the dangerous uncertainties of the present system would be eliminated".

Ten million cars

The new crossings will consist of triangular black and white stripes - instead of the current rectangular stripes at zebra crossings.

There will be a push button on either side of the road which will control a set of flashing lights. After pressing the button, a flashing light will tell the user to wait. Drivers will be warned to slow by an amber flashing light, which will then turn to red. At the same time, a 'walk' sign will be illuminated for pedestrians. After a specified time period the 'walk' sign will begin to flash, warning the user that the traffic lights are about to change back to green and it is unsafe to cross.

Zebra crossings were introduced in 1951 when there were two million cars registered on the roads of Britain. There are now ten million cars on Britain's roads and the figure is rising all the time.

The new crossing scheme will begin in April next year.

	E-mail this story to a friend