I think I got the message across (school run)....

[domtyler]

I have just got back from the school run, we were cycling up the road to school, with a solid row of parked cars on the left, and a silver Zafira in front of us. MaggotJr (8) was in front, then his little sister (6) then me. The Zafira stopped absolutely dead, leaving MaggotJr the choice of an emergency stop in a busy road, swerving right into the oncoming traffic or hitting it I was dead proud of his emergency stop, reasonably controlled and stayed on, the first thing he did on stopping was to turn around and check his sister was OK

They got off their bikes to walk the rest of the way up the path (only 100m or so) and I cycled level with the drivers window, tapped on it gently and just pointed to my two kids shakenly walking up the path. The woman rolled down her window, and instantly apologised and looked really contrite, then blew it by saying "but I had to stop here theres no spaces nearer the school!!" I just shook my head and asked her when her darling children were down to do the cycle course, "Why?" says she, "Because I teach it, and we need a way to practice emergency stops, maybe you could come along and help with that bit!" I replied.

Last seen sat in the road looking crestfallen and somewhat guilty

Your lad did well to pull off the stop but why was he so close to the vehicle in front that he had to? Best practice would surely dictate that a cyclist leaves ample space in front to not have to pull off such manoeuvres? Goes for drivers too that. If it was my lad, that would be the take home message I would make sure he took home. Always expect the unexpected!

 

[Lazy-Commuter]

Pester Power....

I read about one head who rana ssseries of classes on road safety and then got the children to act as the "marshalls" pointing out to their parents and the other drivers what they were doing wrong!

Good idea. Mrs-LC has just let herself get dragooned onto the PTA, maybe I'll get her to suggest it ...

 

[Bollo]

Did I detect just a hint of ill-temper there, Bollo? Just a teeny tad?

Mmmm. Just a touch. Its a running sore here at Bollo Towers. I'm just about to ring the local Parking Office to try and get the wardens up here more than once a month. Last time they popped up I had a chat and they said they couldn't believe how brainless people are. My favourite is that they park up on the pavements so that ................... everybody who's on foot has to walk in the road.................where they are at the mercy of the bone idle, selfish %£"$£s in the cars trying to find spaces on the pavement! And this morning I ended up rapping my knuckles on a dad's window because I thought he was about to reverse over a kid at the edge of the road.

Having had the honour of a post being censored for potty-mouthed language recently, I'll break off there and get on the blower.

 

[the reluctant cyclist]

Having had the honour of a post being censored for potty-mouthed language recently, I'll break off there and get on the blower.

I'm stunned that you got censored for what you wrote in a post when the picture underneath your name clearly has a "swear word" in it!!!!

To put it from another point of view though...

We live on a road that is a tiny dead end road with a school on the end of it. There are only two houses on the whole road - ours and one other. Our garages (two of them) are on the road that the school is on the end of.

If ever we dare to be coming home at any of the times that all the kids are coming in and out of the school you should hear the torrent of abuse that we get for coming down the road to park in the garage.

Bear in mind that we are well aware that there is a school there and drive incredibly carefully. We also can't just leave it on the street or elsewhere because there are double yellows everywhere.

A fair point I expect you to say that the parent of the little darlings shouldn't have to put up with me parking my stupid car in the garage... but the only time any of them are at risk is when they are all walking in the road and the whole lot of them do this.... walk straight up the middle of the road outside the school (avoiding the wide pavements on both sides) and then moan at you for having your car on said road!!!!!

Just my moan!!!!!!!

 

[jonathan ellis]

our school (so to speak) is on a dead end road
the school negoiated with the council and now cars can park in the local car park for free at 08.45 - 09.15 and for 30 mins at home time.

now just guess where they actually park! 10 feet closer to the school on the "DO NOT PARK HERE BOX"

ARRGHHHHHH

 

[Sh4rkyBloke]

My favourite is that they park up on the pavements so that ................... everybody who's on foot has to walk in the road.................

I always like to point out to my 4.5 year old how incredibly stupid these people are, and that they are parked illegally, and to also make a point of not even half trying to avoid their wing mirrors whilst I pass... this latter part works particularly well when I have the youngest in her pram, it's just a shame that there's no protuding metal thing which may catch the side of their vehicles...

Muppets - the lot of them.

I like the idea about the kids being taught and thus shaming the parents when they do wrong. They also have a tendency to point things out aloud to parents which may embarrass others who are doing wrong. There's just no need for these lazy idiots to be causing such problems outside schools.

 

[domtyler]

Of course Dom, you are absolutely right. One should always expect for and subsequently plan for, the absolutely un-expected actions of other road users. MaggotJr was doing this, which is why he only needed to do an emergency stop and did not come into collission with another road user (however ignorant and stupid that other road user was being). One only has to read the text below to see the danger of not paying enough attention, especially if one feels they know the road and traffic light sequence well. That would be my take-home message anyway. Well, that, and the fact that you are a zarking penis dom

I'm sorry that you have taken offence, perplexed, but sorry.

I agree that I was to blame in some way for my collision too, I have learned a lesson from that and hopefully will be a better and safer cyclist because of it.

 

[Arch]

I always like to point out to my 4.5 year old how incredibly stupid these people are, and that they are parked illegally, and to also make a point of not even half trying to avoid their wing mirrors whilst I pass... this latter part works particularly well when I have the youngest in her pram, it's just a shame that there's no protuding metal thing which may catch the side of their vehicles... !

Oh come now, that's a bit defeatest... Surely you could weld something on?

 

[ufkacbln]

Conversation overheard by Mrs-LC between yummy-mummy WAG wannabe and headteacher of the Little-Commuters' school:

Head: "Please don't park here"
YMWAG: "Why not?"
Head: "Well, it's on double yellow lines, you're blocking the school entrance and making it dangerous for everyone else."
YMWAG (now purple faced and screaming): "You can't tell me where to park, you're only the f'ing head, I'll park where I want, it's f'ing ridiculous that there's no parking here, etc. etc."

.. And YMWAG was from the alleged "posh" estate.

Sadly, the Head gave up. My response would have been, "maybe I can't tell you where to park, but I'm sure nice Mr Policeman can so I'll make sure he's here tomorrow and he can explain about double yellow lines to you."

Easy - ban her from the school grounds, and suspend the child!

The Headmistress has a right to work in an environment free from verbal abuse, if the silly cow can't behave, ban her and her sproglet!

 

[PBancroft]

Not a school, but...

Almost directly opposite my house is a shop. Next to the shop is a large car park. So where do people park? In the road of course.

This is despite the road being actually slightly further away from the entrance than the nearest parking space (yes, I paced it out).

By parking in the road, they prevent nearby residents from neing able to exit their drives safely as they cannot see past, and goods lorries making deliveries cannot get past, thereby blocking up the whole road. And they seem not to notice that they cause this commotion when they get back in the car.

I now think that people are just inherently attuned to ignoring other people's interests.

 

[joebe]

My kids school has once again threatened to get the wardens down. Hey ho.

Oh, and Maggot, re:

Of course Dom, you are absolutely right. One should always expect for and subsequently plan for, the absolutely un-expected actions of other road users. MaggotJr was doing this, which is why he only needed to do an emergency stop and did not come into collission with another road user (however ignorant and stupid that other road user was being). One only has to read the text below to see the danger of not paying enough attention, especially if one feels they know the road and traffic light sequence well. That would be my take-home message anyway. Well, that, and the fact that you are a zarking penis dom

In future can you warn me before dropping in gems like that, I'm getting bored of having to drain coffee from my Keyboards.

 

[Lazy-Commuter]

Easy - ban her from the school grounds, and suspend the child!

The Headmistress has a right to work in an environment free from verbal abuse, if the silly cow can't behave, ban her and her sproglet!

God forbid she would ever set foot on school grounds, or even set foot out of her (huge of course) car: apparently all she does is drive up to the gates as close as she can to the crush of kids and parents milling about, open the door, chuck sproglet out and head off.

The head might have taken some sort of action: we never did find out what the eventual result was.

 

[Bollo]

Top marks Winchester City Council (despite having put their wedge in an Icelandic bank as late as September). After my wingecall yesterday they had a gentleman out this morning watching the tooings and froings in front of our school. He was uniformed and hi-vized, but wasn't actively managing the traffic, so I think he was trying to observe the as-is situation. We'll see what happens next.........