School wardens tell road users to ‘STOP’ as number of incidents rise

SCHOOL wardens across the Southside are calling for all road users to ‘STOP! for the LOLLIPOP’ as part of a new safety campaign being launched by South Dublin County Council this November.

Each morning, and afternoon, school wardens across the county face significant challenges in the delivery of a safe crossing service for primary children. Incident data recorded at school crossings show that, over the last five years, 29 per cent of all recorded incidents at a school crossing involves a driver, motorcyclist or cyclist failing to stop.

Not many people know that a school warden is legally empowered to stop traffic to facilitate a safer crossing for children on the journey to, and from, school.

In accordance with the rules of the road, road users should always observe the instructions of the school warden and remain stopped until the warden has safely returned to their position on the footpath.

Failure to stop for the school warden carries the threat of penalty points and a fine for a motorist, and a fixed charge notice for cyclists.

However, a fine and penalty point fail in comparison to the damage that can be done when a road user fails to stop at a school crossing.

As part of the campaign primary schools serviced by wardens will be sent a pack consisting of a poster, key rings and a #stopforthelollipop campaign sheet to help spread the school crossing safety message throughout the wider community.

“School wardens provide an excellent service in creating a safer environment to enable children to independently walk, scoot or cycle to school,” said Ally Menary, Road Safety Officer, South Dublin County Council.

“Fellow road users must play their part in observing the instructions of a warden to create safer spaces outside our schools.”

South Dublin County Council employs school wardens to operate 94 crossings around the county and are employed under the Local Government Act 1955 in order to facilitate a safer crossing of the road.