@Mark Wilson
"It gripes me (much to the continued chagrin of my wife) that nowadays these people are stationed on pelican crossings, or at crossings which have pedestrian traffic light controls."
It's unfortunately a sign of the times that they are required on pelican crossings that don't have cameras on them because of the attitude of drivers. The alternative would probably be dead lollypop ladies in their droves. Your wife sounds a reasonable person, listen to her.
"Furthermore, if they have to be stationed at these ludicrous points, why oh why oh why do they then help adults who have dropped their kids off at school cross the road? Are these people not capable of operating a pelican crossing or traffic light crossing on their own?"
Would you prefer dead parents as well? How will their children get home from school then? On the one hand we have drivers moaning about parents driving their children to school and causing congestion and on the other hand this. Which would you prefer? Or shall we just close all of the schools so you can spend an extra 10 minutes in bed and rush to work in your car with no regard for anyone else?
I'm actually shocked that anyone could think that this was a bad idea.
@Everyone else who thinks this is a bad idea:
You are probably part of the problem, get over yourself.