Road rage is threatening the survival of the British lollipop lady. Aggressive driving, verbal abuse and threatening behaviour are so common that an estimated 5,000 school crossings are now unmanned as councils struggle to persuade a new generation of women — and men — to put up with worsening driver behaviour.

The roll of shame over the past few years includes two crossing attendants who have died in the line of duty, another shot in the head with an airgun, several broken legs and an endless barrage of verbal intimidation.

The latest figures show a child is hurt or killed on UK roads every 16 minutes, with 3,739 seriously injured and 166 children killed in 2004.

Lollipop men and women were introduced in the winter of 1953 as part of the School Crossing Patrol Act. The aim was to cut the death toll, which reached 797 children in 1952. Despite an increase in traffic, fatalities have dropped significantly, thanks in part to their efforts.

According to the Highway Code, the school patrols have as much right to stop your car in the street as a police officer. Under the Road Traffic Regulation Act of 1984, a motorist who fails to stop is liable to a fine of up to £1,000, three penalty points and even disqualification.

But the dangers the patrols face today are far removed from those portrayed by the lovable Tufty, the cartoon character who championed the cause of lollipop staff for decades.

Josie Wride, who is in charge of 120 crossing patrols in Trafford, Manchester, had to cope with the death of one of her team five years ago. “The driver simply didn’t see our patrol — it was an enormous shock to all of us,” she says. “People have busy lives and they are rushing around not concentrating on what they are doing.”

Mary Jarrett, Suffolk county council’s crossing patrol manager, said the authority had about 20 vacant posts. “We have had a recruitment drive and a campaign called ‘Stop Means Stop’ that reminds drivers of their obligations. Our staff have reported number of drivers who failed to stop this year, but luckily there have been no injuries.”

Brake, the road safety charity, says the national shortage of lollipop men and women is partly because of the speed of traffic. It is calling for a blanket 20mph speed limit in residential areas to make the streets safer. Mary Williams, a spokeswoman, said: “When grown ups are too scared to stop traffic and cars don’t always stop, how can crossing patrols always be a safe place to cross?” Joe Richards, 71, is a lollipop man who helps children across the road at Plumstead Common, southeast London. He took up the job last year after retiring as an engineer. “It’s just about the most dangerous job I’ve ever had. I work on a zebra crossing, which should be safe, but you would be amazed at what some drivers do. They just don’t want to stop and you have to take your life in your hands sometimes when you step out.

“I recently had a case where a young boy was thrown over the bonnet of a car. He wasn’t badly injured but it shook a lot of people up. There have been times when I’ve thought about packing it in, but then I think of the children.”

Richards, who has seven grandchildren, fears he would not be replaced if he quit. The local authority is considering laying an anti-skid surface to reduce the danger.

Roger Keable, school crossings patrol supervisor for Oxfordshire, said the job was becoming more dangerous, with more vehicles on the roads and people less patient in traffic. “We see many motorists still using mobile phones at the wheel. This distracts them and they don’t see patrol staff until the last minute.”

Keable said patrols feared foggy days the most. “They do their job in all weathers but any drop in visibility increases the dangers. This is no longer an old person’s job because you have to be prepared to get out of the way quickly.”

Sarah Ouldcott, whose two children use a crossing at the junction of St Paul’s Road and Highbury Corner in north London, has signed a petition at her children’s school urging the local authority to appoint a lollipop man to replace one who recently left. “It’s a constant problem at a very busy junction. We get a lot of abuse from drivers who edge forward, even though there is a pelican crossing showing a red light. Because the traffic moves so slowly, cars will block the crossing area and you have to squeeze between bumpers and frustrated motorists.”

Ouldcott says there have been near misses with her children Josh, 6, and Lily, 5. “My husband had the pushchair with him one day and a cyclist clipped the pram, and I’ve had a motorcyclist ride past behind me at speed.”

Bob Blizzard, Labour MP for Waveney in Suffolk, has been pressing for improved pay for lollipop staff to encourage more recruits. “There is a shortage of staff nationwide. Many of those doing the job are old and it isn’t easy to find young people to replace them. These people are not doing it just for the money. They act as a guardian figure for youngsters and they really do care.”

The car alarm that can save children's lives

Technology being developed in Japan sets off a warning in cars when a child may be about to step into the road, writes Emma Smith.

In a trial by Nissan, 200 children were equipped with electronic tags on their backpacks that triggered a voice alarm in specially equipped cars. It said: “There is a child nearby. Be careful!” The alert sounds when a child is on the pavement or at a crossing within 100 yards of the car. Drivers of the 100 cars used in the experiment slowed down and took greater care in residential areas and near schools where high numbers of child accidents occur.

More than half (55%) of all accidental deaths among five to nine-year-olds in Britain are as a result of road accidents. In Japanese cities where housing is dense and car ownership high, the accident rate is even higher. Toshiyuki Fujikura, the researcher who did the study in Yokohama, said the system could significantly reduce child deaths. “We hope this will be a way to protect children in the future, especially where visibility is low due to the number of buildings and other obstacles,” he said.

The system could be made more consumer friendly by fitting the tags to children’s mobile phones.

Adrian Walsh of RoadSafe, the lobby group, said it was only a matter of time before systems such as Nissan’s caught on.

But Andrew Howard of the AA Motoring Trust said the proliferation of safety warnings could be counterproductive.

“I call it Old McDonald syndrome,” he said. “By the time you combine all these beeps, honks, bells and other warnings, at the least it could be very distracting for drivers.”