‘Potentially dangerous incident’ sparks new safety measures at Redcar crossing
A near miss, involving a vehicle and a lollipop patrol on a busy road in Redcar is prompting the council to look at new safety measures
A near miss, involving a vehicle and a lollipop patrol on a busy road in Redcar is prompting the council to look at new safety measures.
Council leader Alec Brown suggested the vehicle which was being driven along Kirkleatham Lane, Redcar, had initially failed to stop for the school crossing patrol officer.
Cllr Brown also suggested there had been an altercation and said footage of the incident had been passed onto police.
Redcar and Cleveland Council does not routinely supply its crossing patrol officers with body worn cameras, but a spokesman said the council employee had recorded footage which had been passed onto the police with full knowledge of the local authority.
Cllr Brown said flashing lights warning of the presence of schoolchildren at certain times were to be installed, while a crossing supervised by the lollipop patrol would be re-marked.
The incident is understood to have occurred at about 3.20pm on January 6 when the area was busy with school pupils walking home from nearby schools.
Cllr Brown said: “I’ve been in touch with officers after what was a potentially dangerous incident near a school patrol crossing on Kirkleatham Lane in Redcar and I’m pleased to report that flashing lights will be installed in the area and the crossing will be re-marked.
“Nothing is more important than the safety of our children and the council’s dedicated school patrol officers do all they can every day to keep our children safe on the roads.
“We also have highly dedicated teams of highways and enforcement officers who constantly monitor the roads.”
Cllr Brown also said, separately, community enforcement officers were talking to drivers about the risks from blocking pavements near schools in the vicinity at dropping off and collection times.