Meaning of 'thanks to' in the sentence?

[Tan Elaine]

Thanks to the traffic warden, the students cross the road safely every day when the school is dismissed.

1. Is 'traffic warden' the correct phrase for a person in charge of seeing the students cross the road safely from the school gate?

2. Does 'Thanks to' mean that the students should be grateful to the traffic warden for seeing to their safety across the road?

Thanks.

 

[SlickVic9000]

(Not a Teacher)

1) Though it makes sense to me, I've never seen or heard it used in the States. We usually call them crossing guards. It sounds kind of BrE to me.
2) In this sentence, I'd say it does. It is used sarcastically sometimes, though.

 

[Barb_D]

No, I don't agree that using the phrase "thanks to" means they should the students should say "thank you" or be grateful. (Perhaps they should be, but that's not what "thanks to" means.)

It simply means that whatever you're talking about made something possible. Thanks to a good tailwind, the delayed flight made up the time in the air and still arrived on time.

However, I quite agree they are called "crossing guards" here. What is the term in the UK, Australia or elsewhere?

 

[emsr2d2]

In BrE, they're traditionally called "lollipop ladies" or, of course, these days "lollipop men" also. It comes from the fact that the sign they hold up to stop traffic looks like a giant lollipop! See HERE.

A traffic warden patrols the streets searching for parking infractions. If (s)he finds one, a fine is issued and a ticket is placed on the windscreen of the offending car detailing the offence and the amount of the fine.