ROAD safety is something that is very important to teach children, especially as they come bounding out of school.

This is why we pay tens of thousands of pounds for zebra crossings and traffic lighted crossings outside schools and along busy roads.

Sometimes, especially where I come from in the Black Country, there aren’t any crossings across the likes of dual carriageways. This is when Lollipop People really do stand out.

They stick their sticks into the air hoping the cars travelling at 40, maybe even 50 mph, will see their sign to stop in whatever lane they are in, and take the first step into the road until they are sure the children and families needing to get across safely, can do so. They often do this in unison with another Lollipop Person on the other side of the small, paved central reservation.

This is when they are well needed and a necessity in a council’s budget.

But more often than not, they stand guard over the button on the traffic lights or next to the black and white pole on the zebra crossing – both which require vehicles to legally stop should the lights turn red or a footstep onto the white and black markings.

So what’s the point?

They are not stopping the traffic, that’s what the thousands of pounds worth of traffic management technology is doing.

They simply operate it which any child and adult can do and do do at all other times of the day outside of the 8am period, 1pm nursery leaving/arriving times, and the 3pm home time.

I’m not saying they are a complete waste of resources, as I said before, placing them somewhere where there is no crossing facility is vital and I often use them myself if I am in that situation, but I’m sure the role of the crossing guard is to guard people’s lives while crossing, not guard the crossing from being operated by anyone but themselves. It renders the crossings meaningless.

There have also been several times when I have sat in traffic in my car and traffic lights have turned red. While they have been red, a Lollipop Person has walked out into the middle of the crossing, put up their STOP sign and waved their arms out for people to cross. Then, while the light is still on red, they have thanked both sides of the traffic for stopping and moved back to their post on the pavement. Drivers have then taken this as a “Thank you for stopping, you can go now” and began to drive over the crossing, despite the red light.

This is a dangerous and rare example but it does happen because they don’t know who is taking control of the traffic, the Lollipop Person or the traffic lights.

To end the confusion and needless waste of cash, will all Lollipop People please create a crossing using their job on a section on road that doesn’t have a crossing that would benefit from having one.