Kids Who Can't Cross the Street 

Well, the school year has finally started around here... which has reminded me of the crossing guard madness we have in the area. Specifically I mean the idiocy that possesses crossing guards in Wauwatosa. Wauwatosa crossing guards are on a power trip. Not only do they stop traffic to let grade school kids cross the street, some of them also take it on themselves to be traffic cops at intersections that are already controlled (either by having stop signs or traffic lights).

I have a hard time with the logic of crossing guards at fully controlled intersections. What makes it worse is when crossing guards try to tell which cars should go (almost always against the standard rules of the road) when there are no kids nearby!

This morning was especially funny. I was at an intersection about 2 blocks from a local high school. I had stopped at a stop sign where some high school kids were at the corner. No crossing guard was needed here mind you. There was a stop sign, I stopped for the sign, and was going to let them cross since pedestrians have the right of way. The crossing guard was at the farthest corner of the intersection away from them (kitty corner if you will) and yelled at them to stop just as they were about to cross. He then came across the road, holding up traffic in all directions, and then basically escorted them across the street.

If we can't even trust high school aged kids to cross the street at a controlled intersection on their own, how the hell can we give them driver's licenses? Let the poor high schoolers cross the street on their own. What kind of nanny community do I live in for God's sake! This is what happens when you give retired people jobs in the community.