Road Rage: Lollipop Ladies ‘To Be Trained In Conflict Resolution’

The smiling lollipop lady is often most affable character you’ll meet on the roads.

And with cyclists, motorists and pedestrians often at each other’s throats, a council has considered putting this to good use.

Under new plans, lollipop ladies could be trained in "conflict resolution" as part of a project in Bristol to dampen tempers on the road.

Bristol City Council has enlisted the help of a local mediation charity to run the £10,000 project and have spoken to all types of road users.

Annali Grimes, a project coordinator from Bristol Mediation, said: “It would be foolish to say that everyone will agree and we will find one magic solution.

"But, I think through conversation and empathy we can hope to make people think about how they are using the road and become more mindful of other road users.

"One solution might be to station mediators on roads to calm people down, or perhaps to teach lollipop ladies conflict resolution skills.”

Training lollipop ladies is just one of the many proposed plans to tackle road rage.

However, not everyone is keen – with one commenter writing online: “£10,000 for some people to ask questions to volunteers.

“Is this someone who has decided to do a “school style” questionnaire that will have zero results. I’m so glad Council Tax money is going to a waste like this.”

(Credit: geograph.org.uk/Lewis Clarke)