Apr 30, 2008 10:45 AM
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If you wanted a sure sign that the Orwell-ization of Great Britain is underway, then look no further than this. Lollipop ladies, those kindly old women who man the main roads next to school, similar to the US crossing guard, have been issued with video cameras to record lollipop rage—as school-side road rage is known.
The cameras, which record traffic coming from both the front and the back, mounted on the lollipop lady's cap, and attached to an Archos portable DVR, have been developed by a British firm, Routesafe. Several local authorities have invested in the technology to counter the increasingly aggressive behavior on British roads.
"It's unbelievable that we have to take this action," says the chairman of the Local Government Association's transport board, "but the lives of children are at risk from increasing numbers of drivers who are so selfish that they are willing to put lives at risk by refusing to stop for 30 seconds at a school crossing." Miscreants will be fined the sterling equivalent of $2,000 and be given three points on their licenses.
All of this raises the question: what is next for the CCTV state that Britain has become? I'm betting on Bathroom attendants with cameras to make sure you don't abuse the soap or toilet paper, and school dinner ladies with serving-spoon cams that make sure that "ver kidz" are eating their greens. [Daily Mail]
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