Crossing guard
A crossing guard, a lollipop man/lady, crosswalk attendant or school road patrol is a traffic management volunteer who is normally stationed on busy roadways to aid pedestrians. Often associated with elementary school children, crossing guards stop the flow of traffic so pedestrians may cross an intersection. Crossing guards are known by a variety of names, the most widely used in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Australia being "lollipop lady/man", a reference to the large signs used that resemble lollipops. The verb is lollipopping, which can also be used for road works.
Australia and the United Kingdom
In Australia and the United Kingdom, a school crossing supervisor or school crossing patrol officer is commonly known as a lollipop man or lollipop lady, because of the modified circular stop sign he or she carries, which resembles a large lollipop. The term was coined in the 1960s when road safety awareness programmes were rolled out in schools throughout the UK and the crossing patrols were introduced by the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1967. 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, and in the pop world.Research in the UK has revealed that crossing guards are seen as the safest school crossing option by parents and children, with nine out of ten believing that every school should have one.
In Australia, school crossing supervisors are employed by state government transport authorities and are posted at crossing sites by government officers. The exceptions to this rule are Victoria, where local councils employ crossing supervisors through their local laws department and Western Australia, where supervisors are known alternatively as police traffic wardens, and are employed by the traffic management unit of the WA Police. Supervisors in WA use handheld neon stop-flags instead of the traditional lollipop.
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 changed the law 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 horizontal strip of black, and an international symbol for children. The design is based upon the Vienna Convention international standard roadsign for "passing without stopping prohibited". 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, a zebra crossing, 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.
Austria
In Austria the crossing guards are colloquially called Schülerlotse. The service was initiated the first time in Salzburg in 1964. Most of the crossing guards are about 3,000 volunteers or men, liable for Zivildienst. If volunteers or officials of the Zivildienst are not available, this service is fulfilled by officers of the local or federal police. The legal denominations are Schülerlotse for students from the age of 11 until 18 and Schulwegpolizist for persons over the age of 18. The Schülerlotse is legally not allowed to stop the traffic, just to show that students want to cross, the Schulwegpolizist is entitled to stop the traffic. The Schülerlotse are equipped with reflective jackets and a traffic signs.Germany
In Germany the crossing guards are called Schülerlotse, Verkehrshelfer or Schulweghelfer. Due to the increasing traffic the first service started in 1954. Currently there are about 50,000 traffic assistants and traffic cadets in Germany, all of them are volunteers.The traffic assistants are trained, organized and equipped by the Deutsche Verkehrswacht in cooperation with the respective state police. To become a traffic assistant, the candidate has to pass an exam which varies from state to state and lasts 6-12 hours. A Verkehrshelfer can become a Verkehrskadett, if a higher level of training is passed, depending on the state's regulations about 32-120 hours. While the Verkehrshelfer are equipped with reflective jackets and circular traffic signs, there is a ranking structure for traffic cadets and they wear uniforms while on duty.
Republic of Ireland
Some school crossings are operated by junior traffic wardens, who are typically senior pupils at the school, working in teams of six.Japan
Crossing guards in Japan are called Gakudōyōgoin. The system started in Tokyo in 1959. It was founded as a way to offer employment to widows after World War II.New Zealand
In New Zealand, a school crossing patrol, officially called a School Traffic Safety Team, but 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. Around 950 school patrols operate nationally.The two students on duty control and stop the flow of vehicles approaching a pedestrian crossing from either direction allowing school students to safely cross the road. This is done by extending orange 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". "Check". "Cross now" and finally "signs in".
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 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 aluminium, allowing them to be light and relatively easy to carry by younger students.
Kea Crossings, and School Traffic Wardens, are also in place at some New Zealand schools where low to medium traffic is present.
Switzerland
The crossing guard service in Switzerland is provided by traffic cadets organized by the Swiss Traffic Cadets Association. Depending on the canton the all volunteer cadets are equipped with different uniforms and a ranking structure.United States
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 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." These do not have legal responsibility for the safety of children.The first school safety patrols were formed in the 1920s, because of growing concern for the well-being of students walking to school because of increasing fatalities and crossing incidents. Early patrols were formed in St. Paul, Minnesota, in 1920, and in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1923.
Crossing guards, except those who are duly sworn public safety officers, have no arrest powers, may not write tickets, and may only forward the license plate numbers and other descriptors of alleged violators to local law enforcement, who decide what to do with that information; results may range from nothing at all to a verbal warning to a written summons and fine.
Similar procedures exist in most areas for school bus drivers, who may observe motorists disobeying the bus stop arm or flashing lights usually displayed when children are entering or exiting the bus.
In some cases, the crossing guard may be injured due to a speeding car. For example in Kansas City, Kansas, Bob S. Nill was struck and killed by a distracted driver and Nill credited with saving two children.