Drivers Urged to Stop for SCPs
Pembrokeshire County Council is to run a campaign urging drivers to stop for school crossing patrols (SCPs) following increasing concerns that some motorists are not doing so.
Since November 2014, when a SCP in Fishguard was struck by a car, council Stop means Stop officers have been monitoring near misses and have logged numerous incidents of vehicles failing to stop for the patrols, with a number of these incidents reported to the police.
Now the council’s road safety team is running a Stop Means Stop campaign for the month of October.
Councillor Rob Lewis, cabinet member for transportation, said: “We have SCPs for a reason. They are there to ensure the safety of our children when they go to and from school. I cannot understand how some drivers are prepared to flout the law and ignore them.
“They face not just fines and a points on their license but possibly the injury of someone, or even worse, on their conscience.”
Under the Road Traffic Act 1988, drivers are legally obliged to obey the school crossing patrol sign.
The law states that as soon as a patrol raises their sign, even if they have not stepped into the road, drivers must be prepared to stop and wait until the SCP and any accompanying children and/or adults have cleared the road.
Anyone found guilty of not stopping faces prosecution and could receive a fine of up to £1,000 and three penalty points on their license.