Crossing guard
Encyclopedia
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
), school crossing supervisor (Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
) or school road patrol (New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
) is a traffic
Traffic
Traffic on roads may consist of pedestrians, ridden or herded animals, vehicles, streetcars and other conveyances, either singly or together, while using the public way for purposes of travel...
management specialist who is normally stationed on busy road
Road
A road is a thoroughfare, route, or way on land between two places, which typically has been paved or otherwise improved to allow travel by some conveyance, including a horse, cart, or motor vehicle. Roads consist of one, or sometimes two, roadways each with one or more lanes and also any...
ways to aid pedestrians. Often associated with elementary school
Elementary school
An elementary school or primary school is an institution where children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as elementary or primary education. Elementary school is the preferred term in some countries, particularly those in North America, where the terms grade school and grammar...
children, crossing guards temporarily stop the flow of traffic
Traffic
Traffic on roads may consist of pedestrians, ridden or herded animals, vehicles, streetcars and other conveyances, either singly or together, while using the public way for purposes of travel...
so pedestrians may cross an intersection. Crossing guards are known by a variety of names, the most widely used in the United Kingdom and Australia being "lollipop lady/man", a reference to the large signs used that resemble lollipop
Lollipop
A lollipop, pop, lolly, sucker, or sticky-pop is a type of confectionery consisting mainly of hardened, flavored sucrose with corn syrup mounted on a stick and intended for sucking or licking. They are available in many flavors and shapes.- Types :Lollipops are available in a number of colors and...
s.
Australia and the United Kingdom
In AustraliaAustralia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, a school crossing supervisor or school crossing patrol officer is colloquially known as a lollipop man, and lollipop woman/lady, because of the modified circular stop sign
Stop sign
A Stop sign is a traffic sign to notify drivers that they must stop before proceeding.-Specifications:The Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals proposed standard stop sign diameters of 0.6, 0.9 or 1.2 metres. UK and New Zealand stop signs are 750, 900 or 1200 mm, according to sign...
he or she carries, which resembles a large lollipop
Lollipop
A lollipop, pop, lolly, sucker, or sticky-pop is a type of confectionery consisting mainly of hardened, flavored sucrose with corn syrup mounted on a stick and intended for sucking or licking. They are available in many flavors and shapes.- Types :Lollipops are available in a number of colors and...
. The term was coined in the 1960s when road safety awareness programs were rolled out in schools throughout the UK. Ventriloquist, John Bouchier, visited schools nationwide with his ventriloquist dummy to help make children more aware of road safety. During these visits John's main character, a young boy named Charlie, referred to crossing patrol officers as "Lollipop men" for the first time. The term became widely used very quickly and has crossed into popular culture, both in the folk world (the common morris-dance
Morris dance
Morris dance is a form of English folk dance usually accompanied by music. It is based on rhythmic stepping and the execution of choreographed figures by a group of dancers. Implements such as sticks, swords, handkerchiefs and bells may also be wielded by the dancers...
tune "The Lollipop Man" has lewd lyrics in one tradition), and in the pop world (see the song by the band Sweet
Sweet (band)
Sweet was a British rock band that rose to worldwide fame in the 1970s as one of the most prominent glam rock acts, with the classic line-up of lead vocalist Brian Connolly, bass player Steve Priest, guitarist Andy Scott, and drummer Mick Tucker.Sweet was formed in 1968 and achieved their first...
).
In Australia, school crossing supervisors are employed by state government transport authorities and are posted at crossing sites by government officers.
Under UK law it is an offence for a motorist not to stop if signalled to do so by a patroller. In the past patrollers only had the authority to stop the traffic for children. However, the Transport Act 2000
Transport Act 2000
The Transport Act 2000 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It provided for a number of measures regarding transport in Great Britain, most notably, the first major change in the structure of the privatised railway system established under the Railways Act 1993...
changed the law was so that a patroller had the authority to stop the traffic for any pedestrian.
In the UK, the stop sign has the word "STOP", a strip of black, and an international symbol for children (the symbol replaced the written word "CHILDREN"). The black strip is used to record, with chalk, the registration numbers of motorists that do not stop. The patrollers are employed by local authorities, but there is a greater degree of standardisation of the system across the country than in the US. They are often older people who have retired from full-time employment. They may be based at a pelican crossing
Pelican crossing
A Pelican crossing is a type of pedestrian crossing featuring a pair of poles each with a standard set of traffic lights facing oncoming traffic, a push button and two illuminated, coloured men facing the pedestrian from across the road - a red, stationary man to indicate that it is not safe to...
, a zebra crossing
Zebra crossing
A zebra crossing is a type of pedestrian crossing used in many places around the world. Its distinguishing feature is alternating dark and light stripes on the road surface, from which it derives its name. A zebra crossing typically gives extra rights of way to pedestrians.The use of zebra...
, or just an ordinary point on the road widely used as a crossing.
Due to an increase in abuse, threats and other aggressive behaviour from some drivers, signs with built in hi-tech cameras are being introduced to record offenders, cars and registrations.
New Zealand
In New ZealandNew Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, a school crossing patrol, more commonly known as a School Patrol or Road Patrol, was first introduced in 1931 and has been acknowledged in New Zealand legislation since 1944. Students and supervising teachers are in charge of running the patrols each day, with students being trained each year by the New Zealand Police
New Zealand Police
The New Zealand Police is the national police force of New Zealand, responsible for enforcing criminal law, enhancing public safety, maintaining order and keeping the peace throughout New Zealand...
. Around 950 school patrols operate nationally.
The two students on duty control and stop the flow of vehicles approaching a pedestrian crossing (or school crossing point) from either direction allowing school students to safely cross the road. This is done by extending red school patrol signs onto the roadway in one or both directions so that the words "STOP - SCHOOL PATROL" is clearly displayed to any approaching driver. Once the traffic has stopped, one student verbally instructs pedestrians to cross the road.
One of the two students leads the crossing with a series of verbal calls. When a gap in the traffic appears the leader calls "signs out" (both signs are extended onto the road). "Check" (Both students check that traffic is stopping/stopped). "Cross now" (students may cross safely) and finally "signs in" (Signs are withdrawn from road).
All traffic is legally required to stop if one or more signs are being displayed. The stop signs used are mounted onto the pedestrian crossing poles which have a hinged bracket attached, allowing the students to easily and quickly extend (swing) the sign out onto the roadway, during breaks in the traffic. These signs are removed from the poles and stored away while the crossing is not in operation and are usually constructed from aluminum, allowing them to be light and relatively easy to carry by younger students.
Kea Crossings (school patrols that don't operate on pedestrian crossings), and School Traffic Wardens, are also in place at some New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
schools where low to medium traffic is present.
United States
Growing from concern for the well-being of studentStudent
A student is a learner, or someone who attends an educational institution. In some nations, the English term is reserved for those who attend university, while a schoolchild under the age of eighteen is called a pupil in English...
s walking to school
School
A school is an institution designed for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is commonly compulsory. In these systems, students progress through a series of schools...
, the Omaha Police Department in Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River...
, instituted the first safety patrol in the United States in 1923.
No universal regulations exist that describe who may be a crossing guard, where crossing guards are stationed, or for what purposes a crossing guard may be employed. This person may be paid or volunteer; the person may be a school
School
A school is an institution designed for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is commonly compulsory. In these systems, students progress through a series of schools...
employee, a member of local law enforcement, a city employee, or contracted privately. Many elementary school crossing guards are assisted by older students, known by a variety of titles such as "safety monitor" and "safety patrol
Patrol
A patrol is commonly a group of personnel, such as police officers or soldiers, that are assigned to monitor a specific geographic area.- Military :...
." These do not have legal responsibility for the safety of children and have no legal responsibility.
Crossing guards, except those who are duly sworn public safety officers, have no arrest powers, cannot write tickets, and can only forward the license plate numbers and other descriptors of alleged violators to local law enforcement, who will decide what to do with that information; results may range from nothing at all to a verbal warning to a written summons
Summons
Legally, a summons is a legal document issued by a court or by an administrative agency of government for various purposes.-Judicial summons:...
and fine.
Similar procedures exist in most areas for school bus
School bus
A school bus is a type of bus designed and manufactured for student transport: carrying children and teenagers to and from school and school events...
drivers, who may observe motorists disobeying the bus stop arm or flashing lights usually displayed when children are entering or exiting the bus.
See also
- PedestrianPedestrianA pedestrian is a person traveling on foot, whether walking or running. In some communities, those traveling using roller skates or skateboards are also considered to be pedestrians. In modern times, the term mostly refers to someone walking on a road or footpath, but this was not the case...
- School bus traffic stop lawsSchool bus traffic stop lawsSchool bus stop laws are laws dictating what a motorist must do in the vicinity of a bus stop being used by a school bus or other bus, coach or minibus providing school transport.-School bus stop laws in the United States and Canada:...
- TrafficTrafficTraffic on roads may consist of pedestrians, ridden or herded animals, vehicles, streetcars and other conveyances, either singly or together, while using the public way for purposes of travel...
- Traffic GuardTraffic GuardA traffic guard, "traffic controller", "flagman", or "flagger" is a person who directs traffic through a construction site or other temporary traffic control zone past an area using signs or flags. They are responsible for maintaining the safety and efficiency of traffic, as well as the safety of...
- Traffic safety
- Walking busWalking busA walking bus is a form of student transport for schoolchildren who, chaperoned by two adults walk to school, in much the same way a school bus would drive them to school...