Jobsworth lollipop man

[badheadday]

Due to moving house and not wanting to change my kids school we have to drive past a couple of other schools before we get to ours.

There is one particular lollipop man that seems to make a point of stopping as many cars as possible. He's constantly on the lookout for people walking towards the crossing and will stop cars before the pedestrians have even reached him. This includes parents that have already dropped their kids at school and clearly don't need any help to cross the road as they are fully grown competent adults. He has been known to cross a group of people, let one car go through and then stop the next car. Surely he needs to let at least a couple of cars through to help keep the traffic flowing?

Would I be unreasonable to complain about him?

When I was a Head I was run over by a driver on the zebra crossing manned by a lollipop person. A child would have been killed.

Stopping traffic and keeping children safe is their job.

No, do not complain about the lollipop man doing his job correctly!
Pedestrian safety is important. If a car ran into a human, we can safely assume that the human would be worse off.
Also, pedestrians are not emitting car fumes and pollutants, using fossil fuels.

I had no idea that they help adults cross as well as children! It sounds so awkward, like when drivers make a big deal of stopping for you and waving you across instead of just carrying on and leaving the road clear behind them so you can cross at your own pace (not at crossings obviously), so you have to do that little trot and look grateful at something that's actually more inconvenient. I'll definitely avoid crossing anywhere near one from now on!

Jobsworth Lollipop Man sounds like a Beatles song. A Paul McCartney one.

I feel your pain, OP. There used to be a jobsworth lollipop lady just outside the hospital where I worked, slowing up all us bastard drivers, selfishly trying to get to the wards and operating theatres.

You can't complain though - you will sound mad 😀

He’s doing his job!

@MissLucyEyelesbarrow

I feel your pain, OP. There used to be a jobsworth lollipop lady just outside the hospital where I worked, slowing up all us bastard drivers, selfishly trying to get to the wards and operating theatres.

You can't complain though - you will sound mad 😀

Well I suppose she could have not bothered and simply increased the workload for the hospital but I don’t think that would be acceptable!

Just knowing the trip will take a bit longer if at school time is easiest isn’t it?

So, you choose to drive your child to school, thereby contributing to the traffic levels, which is why there us a lollipop man to ensure the safety of those children who walk to school. And you think you should have priority over the children?

The school is very lucky to have a lollipop person in the first place.

A lot of schools have lost them due to funding cuts.

They save lives.

You're not wrong, @Sirzy. I'm reacting more to the sanctimonious comments about drivers from PPs. I guess all the PPs who think that driving is terrible never get in a car themselves, or buy goods that are transported by road, or use services that rely on motor transport?

I actually can't drive a lot of the time, due to a medical condition, but I know that I still indirectly rely on motor transport for almost everything I eat, buy, wear or do.

Still how ridiculous for road users to feel entitled to use the road when pedestrians should take priority

Pedestrians do take priority.

He sounds great. If you don't want him can he come be a lollipop man at my kid's school?

They're supposed to take priority but some car drivers don't seem to know that or else they wilfully ignore that pedestrians are meant to take priority.

I understand why you would feel annoyed, it’s so fraught trying to get them in on time, get you off to work and those extra seconds do feel like an eternity. Better that you leave five minutes early than complain. We lost our lollipop lady during COVID and less than a month later a car hit a three year old on the zebra crossing at pick up time. An air ambulance had to be called to take the little one to hospital who suffered life altering injuries, all this happened in front of 150 primary aged children, parents and siblings. It was horrific.

"Dear council,

I'd like to formally complain about the lollipop man (not his official title) at x school (that I am not associated with in any way).

My complaint is that he's making sure pedestrians can cross the road in a safe and timely manner.

This is causing delays to my long morning commute, which exists because I chose to move to an inconvenient location.

Please ensure he is reprimanded accordingly.

Yours,
Professional complainer"

There you go OP. Saved you a job.

I'm pretty sure they aren't supposed to cross adults over unless they are with a child. I think there is an insurance issue but I'm not 100% sure.

Give some people a bit of power and they go mad.

I got bollocked by a lollipop lady for crossing the road not at her crossing.

I didn't even have kids with me?!

We have a college, secondary school and Primary school in very close quarters.
College has a Pelican crossing, as its near the crossroads. Probably also has the smoothest traffic as its controlled by the lights.
Primary school has a lollipop lady. She keeps the traffic moving, alternating between letting people cross and cars. Unfortunately she can't do anything about the dangerous parking.
Secondary school has a Zebra crossing. Its a free for all carnage... just a stream of children crossing with no breaks.

So all in all, be careful what you wish for... its worse without the lollipop lady. On a few days she's been off its been worse here.
Also I've seen her nearly been hit a few times by cars not wanting to stop. It doesn't look a job for the fainthearted.

Our local lollipop lady has just sadly passed away after many years of crossing kids, then when they grew up, their kids. The local press tributes are amazing and social media is full of lovely comments she will be much missed. We used to have 3 lollipop people on different access roads and she was the only left as the others were not replaced when they moved on. I doubt she’ll be replaced. Cherish your lollipop people they might not always be there.

@Catnuzzle

Yes.

Very unreasonable.

Don't be a twonk.

YABU

Pedestrian safety always comes before the convenience of motorists.

As for the traffic - you ARE the traffic 😂

Sorry - agreeing with Catnuzzle here

@MissLucyEyelesbarrow

You're not wrong, *@Sirzy*. I'm reacting more to the sanctimonious comments about drivers from PPs. I guess all the PPs who think that driving is terrible never get in a car themselves, or buy goods that are transported by road, or use services that rely on motor transport?

I actually can't drive a lot of the time, due to a medical condition, but I know that I still indirectly rely on motor transport for almost everything I eat, buy, wear or do.

I am not being sanctimonious - I do drive, but I at least have a hybrid, which reduces some of the damage I am causing. I also find drivers really annoying when I am walking around, not giving way to me crossing side roads, speeding up over zebra crossings (or, conversely, slowing down, so that I have to wait longer for them to get by before I can cross), and of course the parking on pavements.

And my son walked to school between 5 and 16, and then got the bus to 6th form. So we didn't add to the school run.

When I read this I just imagine Frank Gallagher as a lollipop man in the later series of Shameless

When my kids were at school there was a really nasty lollipop man, he couldn't have caused more traffic problems than he did, doing the letting one car through and then stopping traffic again as he could see someone walking towards him. The worst thing was one of my neighbours had a little girl who was profoundly disabled and when the special bus picked her up he always stopped them and would be loudly saying how Hitler was right and they needed putting down. Yes we did complain and yes he was removed and a good thing too.