Bring on the school holidays - please...

[Morrisette]

I am fed up with dodging idiots in cars ferrying their lazy kids to school.

Today I was cut up about 4 or 5 times, each time was a car containing one woman and one kid, bombing along, ignoring red lights, on the mobile phone, shouting at the brats, eyes anywhere but the road.

In particular the woman in the red Ford Focus. Extra points for tossy driving for you. Seems you were totally unaware that there is ice on the roads, so it won't be easy for me to slam my brakes on when you come straight at me on the wrong side of the road past the 'traffic calming' bollards. I do apologise that little Tiffany may have heard some language - that's how people react if you try to kill them with a tonne of metal. Little Tiffany will be a lot more traumatised if she sees her mother being led away in handcuffs, stepping over a mangled body in the middle of the road that SHE put there. You're not playing X-Box now you stupid cow. Your actions have consequences! FFS!!

 

[louise]

Don't get me started on this one I live opposite a school, what a nightmare trying to get parked after I finish work, what is evening more frightening is the fact that they completely block the eatate off meaning it would be impossible for a fire engine/ambulance to get on the estate.

I asked a mother, in her her big 4x4 to shift once as I lived on the estate and was rewarded with a gobfull of abuse.

 

[thomas]

The worst thing with living near a school (one in the estate near me) is that there is soo much traffic. When working in summer it took me 30 minutes to get on the road to work (because of school traffic) then 30 minutes to drive to work. It would only take me an hour to cycle as I could make up so much time skipping the ques near the house. As soon as school ended the drive was cut in half (but I still chose to cycle unless it was horrible out/I was hungover:P)

 

[ChrisKH]

Being a father with two school age children, I do see it from a different angle. Walking the kids to school yesterday, in a 20 mph zone I saw people doing at least thirty in the knowledge that there were lots of children around and one BMW driver park on the zig zags so he could get out and speak to his mate who was walking a child to school. WTF? Didn't fancy any abuse so didn't say anything but what are people thinking? Not a lot obviously. Wan*7rs some of them.

On the other foot, though, and not wishing to sound snotty, if you buy a house close to a school, it is going to get busy two times a day, so there is a caveat that applies to having a house in those areas. There is a retired sad git close to my son's school who moves his car off the drive and onto the road to prevent quite legal parking by parents and complains about those who do, down his road. He is 25 metres from the school.

Having said that, the actions of drivers around schools is monstrous IMO. And all because they don't want to walk 200 yards or so. Blocking driveways, parking on double yellows, etc. They get what they deserve.

Why can't people be reasonable and respectful of others?

 

[PBancroft]

Why can't people be reasonable and respectful of others?

Partly because this involves putting themselves out, and partly because they think they are, but the 'others' are beyond their world view.

 

[MartinC]

We're used to the selfish behaviour that's the norm but I'm always surprised that it becomes much worse as soon as kids are involved. It's almost as if people think that having kids absolves them of any responsibility for anything - including not putting other peoples kids at risk!

 

[Downward]

Me and the Wife hate the school run.
Our son is just 3 so does 2.5 hours twice a week.
As the school is 2 miles away and we have a 7 week old daughter the only thing to do is drive there and back.

 

[dudi]

on my 'hill training' commute (5 steep hills in 5 miles) it takes me past my old primary school.
Now this school is probably one of the better ones for school run driving, as it has 3 car parks directly opposite it (for local shops, not the school) but even so, the drivers in general are appauling. nipping in and out of gaps that don't really exist, parking on the crossings, parking 2 abreast... it becomes quite difficult and quite dangerous at times.. and this is just a small primary school that does have qite a lot of parking available! i'd hate to go by a large city school with no parking, must be carnage.
When I was a kid, i was never driven to school. not once. but then I did only live a mile or so from primary school, and then i was big and tough enough to walk to high school (3 miles).
I wonder what i'll do when I have kids...

 

[Downward]

on my 'hill training' commute (5 steep hills in 5 miles) it takes me past my old primary school.
Now this school is probably one of the better ones for school run driving, as it has 3 car parks directly opposite it (for local shops, not the school) but even so, the drivers in general are appauling. nipping in and out of gaps that don't really exist, parking on the crossings, parking 2 abreast... it becomes quite difficult and quite dangerous at times.. and this is just a small primary school that does have qite a lot of parking available! i'd hate to go by a large city school with no parking, must be carnage.
When I was a kid, i was never driven to school. not once. but then I did only live a mile or so from primary school, and then i was big and tough enough to walk to high school (3 miles).
I wonder what i'll do when I have kids...

Difficult because we could never afford a house near our sons school so you have to buy where you can afford.

 

[Twiggy]

I ran into something a little worse recently.
Car, with bicycle rack on the back, two bikes on it. Pulls in front, then stops sharply, doors open wide, kids get out, remove unsecured bikes from rack, and push them into school.

Car drives off.


I expect that the parent concerned also came along and picked up their little darlings later that day too.