Bedford Driving Lessons

Mini-CCTV cameras are being fitted to school crossing patrol lollipop poles to catch dangerous drivers in the act. Three lollipop patrols now have the extra set of eyes to collect evidence of drivers who ignore their requests for traffic to stop outside schools in the Bath area. The cameras supplied by Bath and North East Somerset Council will record pictures and sound footage of drivers – who can then be fined £1,000. The system is being trialled next to Widcombe Junior School in Pulteney Road, outside the Royal High School in Lansdown Road and in Paulton. The council is believed to be the first local authority in the south west to use such technology. The Local Government Association estimates there are 1,400 so-called lollipop rage incidents every year. Co-operation between the council and B&NES has led to prosecutions in the past but the council says the camera technology will make gathering evidence for future prosecutions much easier. The initiative could be widened to other schools if the trial is judged a success. Rob Stanley, the lollipop man at Widcombe Infant and Junior schools, said: “Our patrols have little in the way of providing solid evidence that a driver has ignored the lollipop. These mini-cameras provide evidence and hopefully deter drivers from driving through in the first place.” More