Lollipop Men/women - Lethal!!!

[CadenceAlex]

I left my car overnight at the Doctor's surgery and my husband had to take me to collect it this morning.

Well, on the drive back... I was at a crossroads turning right and then all of a sudden this lunatic with a lollipop stick ran in front of me to let a Pedestrian across. I had to slam on. ONE PEDESTRIAN. I was then stuck right in the middle of the crossroads so that nobody else could move at all until this very apologetic lady had crossed the road.

When we got home I asked my husband if it were ME who had done something wrong and he just said calmly, 'No, that's what they do' - many many times locally have we seen them almost getting run over but today, that really took the p**s. If I had had my baby in the car with me when I had to slam on like that, I'd have stopped my car in the middle of the road and given the stupid woman a right ear bashing! It's DANGEROUS.

When I drove on, she gave me a sort of smug look.

I was fuming. My husband said they are all unemployable losers and that's all they can do!!

Whatever happened to the lovely friendly lollipop ladies I remember from my childhood?

On the way to my shop from my house there is no less than SIX. They are menaces :twisted:

Anyone else have this problem?

 

[lynseyloo]

well we cant seem to get lollipop ladies/men here so they installed pelican crossings outside the school. My Aunt use to be one though when I was young, she was a menace, she thought her stick gave her power.

edited to add I did not make this go bold... it's decided to do it on it's own..help..gremlins.

 

[pips]

Wow the lollipop lady, havnt seen one of them around for donkeys years (well not where i live)

While carrying out a vital job that ensures the safety of pedestrians and children i do think they can be a little lollipop stick happy (if you know what i mean) its ok having the saftey of others in mind but not if their going to put them selves in danger by doing this!

Always remember the one from my school days, she was lovely, kept us in order but would only stop the trafic when safe to do so and there was quite a few of us waiting to cross.

Have a nice brew put your feet up and geek for a few hours till your bloods cooled hun :hug:

 

[juju]

that is stupid dont they look first I dont like bus drivers they pull out without indicating they think they own the road and it gives them authority to do what they like whether its dangerous or not

 

[Fingertips ND]

we used to have a really really bad one outside school who stopped traffic every 30 seconds on one of the busiest local roads in our area.

The parents used to go mad and their kids would have been quicker walking to school.

 

[bubbabinks]

They do it round here, just jump out on you.
They are supposed to check it's clear and then step out, the sign is their to stop any traffic coming down the road after they've stepped out.
Could you imagine if you knocked one down how the press would portray the poor lollipop lady run down in her duty?!

 

[CadenceAlex]

They do it round here, just jump out on you.
They are supposed to check it's clear and then step out, the sign is their to stop any traffic coming down the road after they've stepped out.
Could you imagine if you knocked one down how the press would portray the poor lollipop lady run down in her duty?!

Oh I know...

*Lollipop lady mowed down in freak accident trying to let small children cross the road to get access to school*

REAL STORY:

*Lunatic lollipop lady on New Deal jumps in front of car waving lollipop frantically*


Grrrr they drive me mad!

 

[dee]

we have one at my little boys school and shes ok , but i feel sorry for her coz hardly any of the ignorant s**ts in cars slow down for her !! i can see from both side coz i drive too but it makes it easier for em when people slow down to let her get in the road so kids can cross safely ! its maybe just where i live that most of the peeps in cars are ignorant $&*£ :lol:

 

[NailsFrmHeaven]

we dont have these round my area anymore xx

 

[bubbabinks]

We have 2 in the same road for one school!

 

[CadenceAlex]

We have 2 in the same road for one school!

Yesss this is what I'm annoyed about! They're everywhere :sad:

 

[fificharlie]

Oh I know...

*Lollipop lady mowed down in freak accident trying to let small children cross the road to get access to school*

REAL STORY:

*Lunatic lollipop lady on New Deal jumps in front of car waving lollipop frantically*


Grrrr they drive me mad!

LOL - down my road its

*Telapathic Lollipop Lady knows exactly when you are late for work and deliberatley takes 10 mins to get kids across!*

 

[Buggy]

i've been on a speed awareness workshop today (got caught doing 35mph) so i'm miss perfect driver now! (not!)

seriously tho, we all were in the room this morning feeling cheated because none of us had done over 5mph more than the speed limit and we all had a "why the hell am I here" attitude; but by the time we came out we could see why we was there.

firstly, sticking up for you, lollipop people are supposed to be there for kids, not adults. secondly, they are supposed to angle their lollipops out to warn drivers they are supposed to step out (i think). BUT

but please ask yourself this. you were obviously near a school, and how close to her was you when she stepped out? Was it just because you were driving too fast that you had to slam on your anchors? do you even know what your speed was (none of us on the course did until we got caught!)would you have had to slam them on if you were only doing 20mph or less, which is really what you should be doing passing a school at this time of day, or passing a junction where kids cross for school?

before you react to that, i learned this today. if you hit someone at 20mph they have a 90% chance of survival (survival means with an injury, as apposed to death). if you hit someone at 30 they have a 50% chance and if you hit someone at 35 (the speed i was going) they only have a 20% chance of survival with serious injury (serious does not mean a broken bone, it means a life changing injury such as loss of limb/paralysis).

so before you have a go at this woman, ask yourself, was you really driving that slow or do you know even what speed you were driving and, if not, is it wise to be driving past a school crossing at more than 20mph at this time of day. and more importantly, if a kid had stepped out how bad would you feel if you had hit them and killed them or seriously injured them. maybe this was just the wake up call you needed.

what they taught us today was, ultimately, its driver error that causes accidents because the driver is too busy thinking about something else or doing something else (i.e. chatting) and not concentrating on the road ahead to spot possible hazards ahead on the road. when you saw the lollipop lady with the woman on the side of the road you should be thinking, "there is a possibility she could step out". if you didn't see her, why not? She's wearing bright yellow. you should be looking ahead up the road while driving, not just the 20 yards in front of you.

They also taught us that about 80% of deaths occur on urban roads because these are the most familiar to us.. familiarity breeds contempt. we don't "see" hazards on familiar roads because we are so used to them. you probably drive past her everyday and take no notice. how many times have you driven from your house to work and can't really remember the journey!

ok, lecture over!

 

[CadenceAlex]

i've been on a speed awareness workshop today (got caught doing 35mph) so i'm miss perfect driver now! (not!)

seriously tho, we all were in the room this morning feeling cheated because none of us had done over 5mph more than the speed limit and we all had a "why the hell am I here" attitude; but by the time we came out we could see why we was there.

firstly, sticking up for you, lollipop people are supposed to be there for kids, not adults. secondly, they are supposed to angle their lollipops out to warn drivers they are supposed to step out (i think). BUT

but please ask yourself this. you were obviously near a school, and how close to her was you when she stepped out? Was it just because you were driving too fast that you had to slam on your anchors? do you even know what your speed was (none of us on the course did until we got caught!)would you have had to slam them on if you were only doing 20mph or less, which is really what you should be doing passing a school at this time of day, or passing a junction where kids cross for school?

before you react to that, i learned this today. if you hit someone at 20mph they have a 90% chance of survival (survival means with an injury, as apposed to death). if you hit someone at 30 they have a 50% chance and if you hit someone at 35 (the speed i was going) they only have a 20% chance of survival with serious injury (serious does not mean a broken bone, it means a life changing injury such as loss of limb/paralysis).

so before you have a go at this woman, ask yourself, was you really driving that slow or do you know even what speed you were driving and, if not, is it wise to be driving past a school crossing at more than 20mph at this time of day. and more importantly, if a kid had stepped out how bad would you feel if you had hit them and killed them or seriously injured them. maybe this was just the wake up call you needed.

what they taught us today was, ultimately, its driver error that causes accidents because the driver is too busy thinking about something else or doing something else (i.e. chatting) and not concentrating on the road ahead to spot possible hazards ahead on the road. when you saw the lollipop lady with the woman on the side of the road you should be thinking, "there is a possibility she could step out". if you didn't see her, why not? She's wearing bright yellow. you should be looking ahead up the road while driving, not just the 20 yards in front of you.

They also taught us that about 80% of deaths occur on urban roads because these are the most familiar to us.. familiarity breeds contempt. we don't "see" hazards on familiar roads because we are so used to them. you probably drive past her everyday and take no notice. how many times have you driven from your house to work and can't really remember the journey!

ok, lecture over!

I see what you are saying and it is good that you appreciate that speed really does kill, as do myself and my husband. Neither of us speed at all - he went through a windscreen in a head on accident and still bears the scars and will NOT be driven anywhere, and I just don't speed because its pointless.

This morning I had been waiting to turn right at the crossroads - I was stopped, with my indicator on waiting patiently to turn right. The car opposite had given way and I just accelerated normally to turn right.

Slamming on is a natural reaction when there is somebody in front of you - which is why I did it. I couldn't possibly have been going 10 miles an hour. The shock of slamming your brakes on, and being at such a stupid position in the road, really annoyed me.

Why do it when there is only one adult and a hell of a lot of traffic at peak hour in the morning?

I have no qualms about my driving whatsoever - I drive carefully at all times as you would do with a small baby - I think they really should re-educate these people who have the authority to cause accidents with their sticks.

They are an absolute nuisance and are taking their stick welding power to the extreme - people have to get to work, children have to get to school - I believe they should wait until there are a few people waiting to cross instead of letting every straggler cross, after all, not everyone has children - drivers and pedestrians included.

They can be pests in my opinion and dangerous ones at that.

If I had been speeding, I wouldn't have written this thread in the first place.

 

[1999judy]

I left my car overnight at the Doctor's surgery and my husband had to take me to collect it this morning.

Well, on the drive back... I was at a crossroads turning right and then all of a sudden this lunatic with a lollipop stick ran in front of me to let a Pedestrian across. I had to slam on. ONE PEDESTRIAN. I was then stuck right in the middle of the crossroads so that nobody else could move at all until this very apologetic lady had crossed the road.

When we got home I asked my husband if it were ME who had done something wrong and he just said calmly, 'No, that's what they do' - many many times locally have we seen them almost getting run over but today, that really took the p**s. If I had had my baby in the car with me when I had to slam on like that, I'd have stopped my car in the middle of the road and given the stupid woman a right ear bashing! It's DANGEROUS.

When I drove on, she gave me a sort of smug look.

I was fuming. My husband said they are all unemployable losers and that's all they can do!!

Whatever happened to the lovely friendly lollipop ladies I remember from my childhood?

On the way to my shop from my house there is no less than SIX. They are menaces :twisted:

Anyone else have this problem?

They must all live round here. I have 2 lollipop ladies for primary school and 1 for secondary school. They do a great job and have looked after my kids for years, they feel like a part of the family. Maybe this one is new to the job?
The unemployable losers are the one's who don't work and sit on their backsides every day. I mean how much do they earn? It can't be a great deal AND they have to wear that awful uniform.
I would like to thank them for saving the lives of many children every day.
Maybe she was having an off day - we all do :Love:

 

[dee]

i am glad we have one outside our school coz if not then that doesnt bear thinking about !! i still reckon it would be better if people actually slowed down and stopped to let em cross, but people are just in too much of a rush these days but i would maybe think differently if we had a odd bod doing the job, luckily our is pretty ok !

 

[pinkmummy]

Our lollipop people at my new house and my old one were great. They have to put up with so much abuse on a daily basis.
You may find that your mad lollipop person feels they have to jump into the road, or no one will stop for them. At least you know they are there now, next time you approach them, if there are any kids visible, try stopping and give the mad lollipoper a little wave, they really appreciate it.
When your kids are old enought to be walking to school, I'm sure you'll appreciate their help, and like to know that motorists are prepared to stop.:hug:

 

[CadenceAlex]

Well, this morning coming from taking the baby to the childminders, I was REALLY impressed by the last lollipop man I came to who was watching the traffic and keeping an eye on when it was safe to let the 6 or so parents and children across.

He was an older chap, probably been doing it for some time now and someone who obviously took his job seriously. Shame they can't all be like that!

 

[Buggy]

I didn't mean speeding in the normal sense of the word, i meant maybe you were driving at the normal speed but could have considered slowing down as you passed them, as its a school crossing.

But as you say, you were turning a corner and someone let you out. maybe you were distracted by this person letting you out and did you just presume the way was clear because they told you it was? common mistake. was the woman already in the road when you saw her? and that's why you hit the brakes, because it shocked you? i've always been taught that when someone signals for me to come out, not to take their word for it that it's clear, because ultimately if they are wrong and i then hit someone its my responsibility.

maybe the lollipop woman had already decided to walk into the road before you turned the corner, but this bloke let you out unexpectedly? sounds to me like she was already stepping into the road? lollipop women are like zebra crossings. you should expect someone to walk out and you have to stop for them. when i see a lollipop lady standing with someone i'm already thinking its like a approaching a green light... you know its gonna change to red before you get there. she must have thought also that you had either seen her or were able to slow down in time because if i was a lollipop lady i would not walk into a road blindly, lollipop or no lollipop. They're not about to put their own lives at risk just to let someone cross the road, so at the time she made the decision to step in the road she must have thought you had time to slow down.

 

[CadenceAlex]

I didn't mean speeding in the normal sense of the word, i meant maybe you were driving at the normal speed but could have considered slowing down as you passed them, as its a school crossing.

But as you say, you were turning a corner and someone let you out. maybe you were distracted by this person letting you out and did you just presume the way was clear because they told you it was? common mistake. was the woman already in the road when you saw her? and that's why you hit the brakes, because it shocked you? i've always been taught that when someone signals for me to come out, not to take their word for it that it's clear, because ultimately if they are wrong and i then hit someone its my responsibility.

maybe the lollipop woman had already decided to walk into the road before you turned the corner, but this bloke let you out unexpectedly? sounds to me like she was already stepping into the road? lollipop women are like zebra crossings. you should expect someone to walk out and you have to stop for them. when i see a lollipop lady standing with someone i'm already thinking its like a approaching a green light... you know its gonna change to red before you get there. she must have thought also that you had either seen her or were able to slow down in time because if i was a lollipop lady i would not walk into a road blindly, lollipop or no lollipop. They're not about to put their own lives at risk just to let someone cross the road, so at the time she made the decision to step in the road she must have thought you had time to slow down.

Nope, sorry, this woman was an ***** and a dangerous one at that - my husband was behind me at the time and fully agrees that I was no way in the wrong. He was following me to ensure the car got me home! When I turned there was nothing in the road, not a car or a lollipop lady, she came in front of me which is STUPID and DANGEROUS and not a very good example for children who may be witnessing such a stupid thing to do.