Lollypop ladies

dav1

This one has been bugging me for a while so I thought i would ask the question here.

Why are there lolypop ladies at a set of traffic lights that only step into the road when all the lights are red? Seems very pointless to me considering there is already a traffic stop signal in place at these locations.

I understand them at corssinbg points that are not already regulated by a control system but it seems strange to have them when a syatem is in place.

Im not slagging them off here, In general I think they do a damn good job of keeping kids safe when the commute is in full swing, I think I am just missing something here...

ansbaradigeidfran

Their presence can 'force' school kids to press the button and wait for the signal, rather than dart across when the see a gap in traffic?

always_tyred

Dav1 wrote:

This one has been bugging me for a while so I thought i would ask the question here.

Why are there lolypop ladies at a set of traffic lights that only step into the road when all the lights are red? Seems very pointless to me considering there is already a traffic stop signal in place at these locations.

I understand them at corssinbg points that are not already regulated by a control system but it seems strange to have them when a syatem is in place.

Im not slagging them off here, In general I think they do a damn good job of keeping kids safe when the commute is in full swing, I think I am just missing something here...

A Lollipop lady at side of road disuades kids from crossing when they shouldn't, shows example of when to cross, and disuades drivers from moving on amber (kids keep coming even when the flashing green man tells you not to).

They also appear to wait unitl only you, the cyclist, is approaching before pressing the button and stepping out.

chuckcork

They also wait until children have fully crossed, so they don't get run over by someone impatient.

More importantly they control the flow across the road, so children are stopped from running across at the last moment, which can of course be dangerous.

And they have some legal status as well I believe.

Though it would have been nice, from the 'safety' point of view, if the lollipop Man outside of Surbiton Girls High, had asked the drivers of the buses that always parked on the double yellow right in front on the signal controlled crossing he was at, would move their damned busses? Noone else could park there and get away with it and it was rather contrary to any safety matra that might be expressed.

daniel_b

*not strictly off topic...



*I haven't actually read the thread, just saw the word 'lollypop'

downfader

All these arrogant lollipop ladies, eh? Taking up space on the road, not paying road tax...

the_hundredth_idiot

Always Tyred wrote:

They also appear to wait unitl only you, the cyclist, is approaching before pressing the button and stepping out.

+1

There's a lollipop lady on my commute who makes a point of doing just that. Few cars on that road (not even sure why they need a lollipop lady), mostly used by cyclists in the morning. She seems to take great pleasure is stepping out at the last minute causing cyclists to haul on their brakes so they stop. She then stands there in the middle even after everybody has crossed, waving to people some distance way encouraging them to come along - she'll be there in the road for some time yet. :?

And always taking the time to glance towards the cyclists with a scowl and a shake of her head to suggest that she'd like to do something nasty to those cyclists who have stopped and are patiently(ish) waiting.

She looks like Karen Matthews . Absolutely terrifying woman - makes the school holidays even more of a pleasure. :shock:

Jamey

Does anyone else here cycle past that happy, waving Lollypop Lady who greets everyone of a morning on this crossing here:
http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=d&saddr ... 09656&z=17

biondino

Nope but maybe I should change my route so I do

Jamey

Definitely give it a whirl, maybe tomorrow. She seems to be very chipper every time I see her.

el_presidente

Daniel B wrote:

*not strictly off topic...



*I haven't actually read the thread, just saw the word 'lollypop'

Uniform fetish eh Daniel? takes all sorts I suppose

always_tyred

You know, there's large swathes of the internet entirely dedicated to objectifying women.

For example there's;

www.midlifecrisis.com/forum

Registration is free.

Jamey

I thought her legs were missing, took me ages to work out where her right leg was. Looked like she was sloating in mid-air wearing a 1950's swimsuit, or something

lazymedievalist

Always Tyred wrote:

You know, there's large swathes of the internet entirely dedicated to objectifying women.

For example there's;

www.midlifecrisis.com/forum

Registration is free.

HA

I start work at 10 so I'm usually a bit late to encounter lollipop ladies, but a couple of times I've been waved through by one in Peckham who then stops the cars behind me. Perhaps she's a cyclist too.

dav1

I guess i was just trying to see weather or not this is a norwich thing or nationwide.

I see the points here (along the reasons i was thinking of) but usually most kids are with their parents anyway. Often there are more cyclists using the corssing then kids when I pass the lights.

biondino

lazymedievalist wrote:

I start work at 10

Hurray! I'm not the only one! What time do you finish, lazymedievalist?

Jen J

biondino wrote:

lazymedievalist wrote:

I start work at 10

Hurray! I'm not the only one! What time do you finish, lazymedievalist?

Slackers...

AndyManc

Someone say Lollipop 8)

lazymedievalist

Jen J wrote:

biondino wrote:

lazymedievalist wrote:

I start work at 10

Hurray! I'm not the only one! What time do you finish, lazymedievalist?

Slackers...

Hence the 'lazy' in 'lazymedievalist' In fact I'm such a lazy medievalist that my current job isn't even slightly medieval-related...

I finish at 6, just in time to chase students up the New Cross Road.

biondino

I finish at 6.30 but haven't left before 7 yet this week. Will do tonight, though, as I'm off to a screening, which means a cycle home through Chelsea, Fulham and Putney during the middle of the Friday night pissup hour, sigh.