Jams, roadworks and...

Jams, roadworks and middle-lane hoggers are all, arguably, legitimate reasons for road-raging motorists to lose their rag. But itтЂ™s a sad day when they add children crossing a road to the list.

Astonishingly, however, they have тЂ“ and the result is anything from intimidation to abuse and even life-threatening manoeuvres, according to the lollipop men and women who face this behaviour every day.

To prove it, we went in search of a busy rush hour road, armed with some of the latest undercover technology: lollipop poles secretly fitted with tiny cameras, which film road ragers in action.

We picked LondonтЂ™s borough of Westminster, and teamed up with one of its crossing patrol staff Susan West to see how bad the problem really is. She told us typical offences include motorists driving round her when she is in the middle of the road, sounding their horn while children or other pedestrians are crossing, and swearing and using threatening language.

And thatтЂ™s all in spite of the fact that a lollipop sign has the same legal power as a red light. Failure to take notice can result in a ТЈ1,000 fine plus a three-point penalty on your licence.

The situation is getting worse, too. Last year, 1,400-plus тЂ�lollipop-rageтЂ™ incidents were reported to councils, and dozens of lollipop staff across the UK have been hospitalised after being hit by road-raging drivers.

Critical

In fact, itтЂ™s become so critical that some authorities are now teaching patrols how to deal with angry motorists тЂ“ using training techniques originally developed to help bouncers handle drunken party-goers!

And we soon witnessed an incident ourselves тЂ“ one which proved itтЂ™s not only cars that disregard the rules. We watched as West stepped out into the road, held up her stop sign vertically and ushered some children safely across.

But the group had barely mounted the kerb when a man on a bike flashed past, narrowly missing the kids. When West shouted after him he turned around and yelled: тЂњThere wasnтЂ™t even anything in my way!тЂќ

A Westminster Council spokesman who had joined us shook his head as he witnessed the violation: тЂњTraditionally this was an easy job, but now itтЂ™s just plain dangerous,тЂќ he said. тЂњWeтЂ™ve got 12 patrols around Westminster and unfortunately they get this sort of abuse all the time тЂ“ and weтЂ™re talking about vulnerable people here.тЂќ

Once the flow of children crossing had dried up, we managed to speak with West. She said: тЂњIтЂ™ve been doing this job for seven years now, although I have had to move positions because my old spot, on Vauxhall Bridge Road, became far too dangerous when a zebra crossing was removed.тЂќ

Swearing

We discovered that she has had her fair share of near-misses and verbal abuse, too: тЂњIтЂ™ve nearly been hit by a coach. It just kept coming and coming, and stopped inches away from me,тЂќ she said. тЂњIтЂ™ve had people winding down their windows and swearing at me while kids were crossing in front of them, and then thereтЂ™s the cyclists who just fly past regardless every day.

тЂњI gave one an earful once and he stopped doing it for a while, but then he just carried on as normal. They donтЂ™t seem to realise that itтЂ™s illegal.тЂќ

Westminster still hasnтЂ™t armed its patrols with the new hi-tech camera kit, which is made by Oxfordshire-based firm Routesafe. It is designed to capture abusive and dangerous drivers in the act, and use the recorded video as evidence тЂ“ if the case is serious enough to make it to court.

But the firmтЂ™s product manager Lee Fairbrother says thatтЂ™s not the only benefit. He told us: тЂњAs long as thereтЂ™s enough publicity that our lollipops are in use, they will become an effective deterrent. The system also offers peace of mind for the person using it.тЂќ

We asked the council what it thought of the hi-tech lollipop weтЂ™d brought along, as this was the first time it had come across the technology. The spokesman said: тЂњThe city is covered in CCTV cameras, parking cameras and Congestion Charge cameras, so itтЂ™s nothing new for drivers to know they are being filmed! Westminster welcomes anything that helps to protect our staff and children.тЂќ

He continued: тЂњIt raises awareness of whatтЂ™s going on, and acts as vital evidence тЂ“ especially if the person is a persistent offender.тЂќ

So, did West think such a piece of kit would make much difference? тЂњIтЂ™d love to catch the cars and bikes that have ignored me on more than one occasion тЂ“ and this camera would definitely help with that,тЂќ she said. тЂњItтЂ™s heavier than my normal lollipop, but I could get used to it!тЂќ

The Routesafe pole looks identical to a standard one, although it does weigh around a third more and costs ТЈ890 instead of only ТЈ250 for a normal lollipop. Lee Fairbrother added: тЂњIt even has the black strip underneath where it says тЂ�stopтЂ™. Originally this was for crossing patrol officers to write down offending driversтЂ™ registrations in chalk. Our system is moving the game on, and bringing the lollipop into the 21st century!тЂќ

He continued: тЂњIt may sound like a lot of money but itтЂ™s cheaper than a fixed CCTV camera, which would cost around ТЈ1,000.тЂќ However, Fairbrother is realistic about the number of Routesafes he can sell. тЂњIt wonтЂ™t completely replace the standard sign, but hopefully local councils will buy a few each. They can rotate them around as a deterrent.тЂќ

Yet for the technology to make people think twice about road rage, locals must be aware of where itтЂ™s being used. Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council has ordered a number of lollipops тЂ“ and road safety officer Don MacDougall is concentrating on raising awareness. тЂњWeтЂ™ll launch them with a big publicity campaign so motorists know that theyтЂ™re being watched,тЂќ he said.

And itтЂ™s a similar story in Kirklees, West Yorkshire тЂ“ one of the other local councils to make an early commitment to the technology. Committee member for Highways and Transportation David Hall explained: тЂњThereтЂ™s been loads of local publicity and itтЂ™s even been covered in the national press. The idea isnтЂ™t to catch people in the act, but to prevent them doing it in the first place.тЂќ

Kirklees has bought only one lollipop so far, but Hall says it wonтЂ™t be too long before it takes more. In fact, Fairbrother claims Routesafe is making a first batch of 50, and theyтЂ™re all spoken for. A further 150-plus councils have shown interest тЂ“ and that could grow further thanks to Auto Express: after our investigation we learned Westminster Council had agreed to a trial period with the video poles!

This isnтЂ™t RoutesafeтЂ™s first attempt at creating monitoring cameras for crossing patrol officers, either. It also developed a head-mounted unit to serve the same purpose as those embedded in the stick.

But Fairbrother says the lollipops are far superior: тЂњThe head-mounted camera looks only where the person wearing it is looking: at the kids or at the ground. ItтЂ™s not always pointing at the offending motorists.тЂќ He continued: тЂњHaving the camera in the pole lets you look in both directions at the same time, and itтЂ™s activated only when the lollipop is vertical, which extends the life of the battery.тЂќ

Whether these hi-tech poles are adopted nationwide or not, theyтЂ™ve drawn some much needed attention to a serious situation. Only one cyclist ignored the lollipop sign while we were watching тЂ“ but if trends continue, increasing numbers of lollipop-rage cases are inevitable. And itтЂ™s such forward thinking that is needed to stamp out mindless and dangerous driving.

David Sparks, chairman of the Local Government AssociationтЂ™s Transport Board, summed it up: тЂњItтЂ™s unbelievable that we have to take this sort of action, but the lives of children are at risk from drivers who are so selfish that they refuse to stop for 30 seconds at a school crossing. Councils should do everything within their power to put an end to it.тЂќ