REAL LIFE NEWS: CREEPY CHILD BOLLARDS MAKE ROADS SAFER
by Hazed
Scary child-like figures are appearing outside of schools in England. They look like something from a horror film, but the creepy children are in fact child-shaped bollards installed to make the roads safer by telling drivers there is a school nearby.
They have already been installed outside schools in four areas. They are supplied by a company called Barriers Direct for £500 each, and can be customised to the colours of local school uniforms.
Click the source link below to look at a picture of the female version of the bollard, called Belinda – there’s also a male figure, Bill.
Response to the child bollards has been mixed. Leicester City council has been installing a number of the creepy figures since 2009, and the assistant city mayor for children, Sarah Russell, is a fan. “People can initially be quite sceptical, but certainly drivers say they’re more aware of them than [they are of] normal bollards,” she said. “It reminds people to think a little more around schools. It gives them a nudge so they’re conscious of their driving behaviour around children.”
But in other areas, parents have rejected plans to install the bollards. People said they were like something out of Doctor Who, and have also cast doubt on their safety: “Will drivers not just get used to seeing them and so become relaxed and in turn taking [sic] no notice when kids are actually around?” was one comment.
I’m not sure why they are suddenly in the news, given that they have been used since 2009 in some parts of the UK. Maybe it was a slow news day.
