Since the first carriages appeared on the roads, all traffic has needed a set of signs that are visible from a distance and understandable to everyone: both vehicle owners and ordinary pedestrians. This need led to the birth of the world-famous wand.
From the history of the police baton
XX century - the time of the popularity of self-running carriages and mares. Therefore, the question of the need to control their movement to prevent accidents was repeatedly raised. Daniil Drachevsky, the mayor of St. Petersburg, in 1907 was the first to put into use a white wooden stick, whose length did not exceed 90 cm. It was supposed to be worn in a leather case on a belt and taken out only in certain situations. Such a stick was handed over to the traffic police, who at that time had the title of traffic controllers. They could only get her for a specific purpose:
- point to the car that should now make a stop;
- lift the stick up and rotate for a couple of minutes to stop pedestrians and all vehicles that are currently on the road.
When the Bolsheviks came to power, they changed the color of the adjusting stick a little, adding black stripes. ATIn 1922, the appearance of the stick changed dramatically: the length decreased to 49 cm, the color changed from striped to yellow. At the same time, the instructions for its use were supplemented: categorical prohibitions were introduced on any unnecessary actions. The reason for this action lies in the fact that at that time traffic lights were a huge rarity, so traffic controllers with special batons were the only way to control traffic. They could do this with only two actions - raising and lowering their stick.
In the 30s, such wands were completely withdrawn from use. In return, the road police officers were given white gloves designed to perform similar functions. But this phenomenon was temporary, and, apparently, the people did not like it, since on April 27, 1939, the wands again took their rightful place. Their color was changed to black and white, explaining this by biological reasons: against the general background of colors, black and white quickly attracts the attention of the human brain. This is due to the peculiarities of the life of the ancestors of people who hunted at night, while trying to protect themselves from predators. Therefore, human black and white vision is better developed than color vision.
In the 60s, the baton was again taken from the traffic cops. During this period, an experiment was conducted for two years, designed to teach the police to control traffic only with the help of their hands. This attempt ended successfully, and until 1969 traffic cops regulated the movement of drivers and pedestrians with a wave of their hands.
But then they started using wands again. Subsequently, attempts were made to replace it with a flashlight, a knife,shocker and so on, but they were not crowned with due success. It was hard for the policemen to work with a heavy wooden object all day, so another innovation in changing the material from wood to plastic was well received and adapted to it without any problems.
In the Kursk region you can find one of the most interesting and complete collections of travel rods, which at the moment has no equal. It belongs to local police colonel Alexander Narykov. In his collection, you can see more than 40 types of police batons belonging to various countries.
Views
There are several types of police batons.
- More familiar wooden club. She is shown in the photo. The police baton can be of different sizes; it depends on the wishes of the customer and the manufacturer.
- Wands with built-in power transmission. They are essentially flashlights whose front has been replaced with a striped or red plastic tube.
- Wand in the form of a disk. This device resembles a white disk, in the center of which are built-inlight attracting red elements. Manufacturers do not agree on the appearance of the handle, so you can find any variation.
- Wand with stun gun functions. To date, it is not known whether it actually exists or is it an invention of journalists. Law enforcement agencies deny the possibility of using them, referring this idea to the development of companies that have nothing to do with them.
In parallel with it, analogs are in demand, outwardly practically indistinguishable, but made of plastic. Both batons are equipped with reflective elements to make it easier to work at night.
Judging by the reviews of the traffic controllers, the quality of the product is not very different from the toy. A police baton of this kind does its job well, but requires a very careful attitude.
Farewell to the wand, or limitation of the functions of the famous device on the territory of Ukraine
Government bodies clearly define the area of tasks of the police and those functions for which the representatives of the Ministry of Internal Affairs are responsible. The list, intended for the police, included a ban on the use of a baton to stop vehicles.
This point is clearly indicated in the additional document of the Cabinet of Ministers, which was made public on March 22, 2017. Since that day, such a concept as a service center of the Ministry of Internal Affairs has come into general use. In addition, the capabilities of service centers were expanded, which were authorized to develop ways to learn how to drive, as well as create new signals indicating specific actions, and upgrade vehicle equipment.
An additional document of the Cabinet of Ministers divided the scope of authority of police officers and employees of the service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in matters of approving routes for various types of transport, creating unique signals for traffic control, updating vehicle equipment, and so on. Along with this, it was slightly modifieda training program for new drivers, including adjustments to the operation of the police baton. From now on, the police could only regulate traffic with it, and they were required to stop only with a red disk or with a normal hand movement. Therefore, drivers must stop moving at the first request of a law enforcement officer. In addition to all the innovations, the definition of "police" was replaced by "police".
