RANT! Bloody potential accidents waiting to happen.

[Thrasher]

Forgive this rant, and no doubt I'll be accused of being a snob or sad or something - however when the hell will people learn that there are LAWS in this country when it comes to using the highway. Especially around schools.

On my way in today what do I spot? An MPV parked on the zig zags outside a school, obscuring my view of the crossing. I slowly edge past her and am sorely tempted to wind down my window and give her piece of my mind - of course (and no offense here) she wasn't the sort of person who would have understood me :( I've had run ins with this type of person before - in they end they just shrug, babble at me in god knows what language (I assume they are claiming they don't understand the rules) and continue to sit there.

Anyway while I was considering this - what do I note in my rear view? Someone has spotted this MPV and what do they do - THEY BLOODY SWITCH SIDES OF THE ROAD AND PARK ON THE ZIGZAGS! So now we have two vehicle narrowing the road and parking illegaly. Starting to get a bit hot under the collar imagine my shock as ANOTHER lady driver clocks her mate parking illegally from the other side of the crossing (driving toward me) - waves to her - AND VEERS ACROSS THE ROAD WITHOUT INDICATING and PARKS ON THE ZIG ZAGS on the OTHER SIDE! So now we have 3 illegally parked cars, one of which almost had a head on with me as I was driving slowly towards the crossing....

It beggars belief. I wish I'd had the camera - as there were about 20 cars - AND NO SODDING 4x4's to blame ANYWHERE.

I feel a letter to the council and the school coming on.

[dew1911]

Know exactly what you mean - We get it all the time outside here, stupid especially when theres buses around most of the time as well, you get people parking side by side and blocking it totally!

[sparkes]

we had the same problem until some of the parents started taking photo's of the cars and sending them to the police.

They actually fined one taxi for it and now the zig-zags remain clear

[Thrasher]

I am going armed with a camera tomorrow :-)

[Hightower]

Neil,

You know where I live in relation to K's school, so I understand exactly what you mean.
We have cars everywhere each and every morning.  Luckily I'm gone before the madness starts, but on days like today (when I'm at home) it drives me mad.
Thing that wnds me up is the fact that some parents park in the bus stop, opr on the zig zags, , take their kids in to school and then walk to the shops, where there is actually a car park, before returning to their car to go home (probably 1/2 mile away)  :roll:

[NiceBlueWellies]

Totally agree about the stupidity shown when parking near schools - drives me mad too.  I used to live near a school and will never do so again because of the ignorant so and so's that parked across my drive and would not shift even though I wanted to get onto my own property!!!!! It's not worth the hasstle living near a school.  

These sort of people believe they are the rules - and it doesn't just happen near schools - they are everywhere, considering themselves more important than others.  They continually make other peoples lives awkward.

No point in talking to them - I have tried - or telling them when they are in the wrong - tried that to -  they won't listen, believing they are the most important person ever.  We all know they aren't, but is is EXTREMELY frustrating when you come across them.

Good on you Neil - take your camera, or, like near Conners school, enroll the lollipop lady to take the reg no. and report them!  That worked for a while.  

[discomummy]

Hi,

I will be taking a camera as well with me, there is a taxi that always parks on the zig zag lines, along with a couple of MPVs.  There are a good selection of 4WDs picking up kids, but they are always parked correctly.  

I am on the school run once a day as i share, but the amount of cars that see a spot and veer across the road with no indication is frightening - i know one day i will run into one and then be blamed as i am the 4wd owner and therefore obviously at fault.  i drive my kids to school as they are not at our local school but one 3 miles away.  I would love to let them ride their bikes but part of the way is down a very wiggly and narrow lane, with cars going very fast as it is a cut thru for the motorway.

Regards

ela

[suzota]

i have 2 schools near and i live on a busy main road.

it gets so bad at times that the whole road is blocked with cars parking on both sides narrowing the road down to 1 lane through the middle.
then you get a bus coming onre way and a mum the other, gues who has to back up.

the residents plant flowers and put plant tubs out on the grass verge to stop these people parking on the grass, they just drive over them.
mind you one silly tart got stuck on a breeze block that had been put there.
it was white so she should have seen it.
ripped the sump of her car. he he he

[ChrisW]

:lol:  :lol:  :lol:  I think what you have just described there Neil is virtually every school in the country!
Our eldest got hit a by a car coming out of school - the woman driving was picking kids up even though she lives not 100 yards from the gates - and it was all his fault for crossing the road despite the fact the idiots park all over the zig-zags (and I mean PARK not sit in with the engine running) and she was not driving with due care and attention.

Take the camera but I would be very very surprised if anything were to come of it - we have a traffic warden / police car come past the school once in a blue moon - they all park sensibly for 5 minutes but soon as they're gone it's mayhem again.

[Edge]

we had the same problem until some of the parents started taking photo's of the cars and sending them to the police.

They actually fined one taxi for it and now the zig-zags remain clear

DAMN good idea :D
If theres one thing I hate more than slipping on dog poo :shock: , its selfish/illegal parkers
I dont feel the need to park illegally, i walk if the case requires it.

[beast5680]

we had that at our kids school muppets kept parking on the zig zags despite repeated pleas from the school to parents, so the school invited the local plod in to do a safety chat to the kids :D  as last lesson reminders on how to cross the road etc.
the teacher then invited said plod to take a look at the front of the school and parking and he promptly ticketed all those on the zig zags :twisted:
they do spot checks now as a child nearly got flattened because of this and carry out zero tolerance, if your tyre touches any part of the yellow lines now you get a ticket, it seems to have cured the problem at the minute

[V8MoneyPit]

What I find amusing is that they think it's OK to park dangerously (there is a good reason why it's illegal) if they put their hazard lights on  :shock:

And they would be the first to complain if it was their kids getting knocked down  

[Lostboy]

I had a woman in an MPV getting upset at me this morning, because I happened to be merely standing on the pavement so she could not manouver down the road the 20 yards to her kids school.

Call me dumb here, but to turn from a three lane road into a dual carriageway you shouldn't really need to drive over the pavement should it?

[strapping young lad]

i live directly opposite a primary school and parents get there about 30-60 mins early just to park 50ft closer and to show their shiny cars


sad so sad

[Bob696]

......  mmmmmm could bore you all stupid about parking outside of a school but I will just relate todays incident.

Picture this, school entrance with a pedestrian refuge in the middle. Today I nearly had a ford focus in the side of the 90 as they did a U turn OVER the refuge between the bollards :shock:  Sod the kids who were using it at the time.

[muddymart]

I was once taking the lads to school, before we moved to where we are now, and it seemed to me that the bigger and newer the 4x4 you had, you were keeping up with the jones's.

However i have to be careful how i say this as im sure we all take the kids to school now and again, one parent said to me look at the state of that 4x4, mmmmmmmmm.
and i replied " well i do actually use it for the purpose it was built for ,and not just to bring the kids to school,"
Oh yes "do you know what the double yellow lines are for and the zig zags?"

She said i was arrogant and pathetic and had an attitude problem,

[V8MoneyPit]

She said i was arrogant and pathetic and had an attitude problem,

Yes, you do have an attitude problem..... you take the attitude that it is wrong to break the law and endanger the lives of school children. Obviously, unlike the woman you were talking to.

I don't know about you, but I always think of the best retorts after the event!

[dew1911]

I don't know about you, but I always think of the best retorts after the event!

I'm the same, 10mins later I'll think of something superb.

[NiceBlueWellies]

Give me a few minutes and I'll come up with something.    :lol:

[Bush Tucker Man]

There's also a similar problem as 'Small-Childs' school.
The school is adjacent to a Hospital & on one of the approaches used by 'Blue-Lights' coming from the main road.

We too see parking on 'Zig-Zags'. but due to the width of the pavements, they tend to park on the pavement
School has given every parent letters concerning this matter, but do the parents care........... not until one of their kids gets knocked down
One of the worst offenders is a woman in a Porch Cayanne

I'm waiting to hear if the Ambulance service put in an official complaint, some of the crews are ready to

Me? I park in the Doctors accomodation next door to the school

It also doesn't help that the road is also the northern by-pass for the city-centre

[Spooky]

What I find amusing is that they think it's OK to park dangerously (there is a good reason why it's illegal) if they put their hazard lights on  :shock:

And they would be the first to complain if it was their kids getting knocked down  

Those aint Hazard Lights, mate - they're Park Anywhere lights ...

[datalas]

I thought it was a cloaking device ...

[Rocketman]

Perhaps one answer is to do what they do in Malta.

On a road with school gates was a huge sign.

" Warning "

School access, vehicles prohibited between  xxhrs and xxxhrs.

That way all the kids would get a bit of excersise as well.

Incedently if the speed cameras are oficcially called Safety cameras, why is there not one outside every school?

[discograham]

Dont start me on speed cameras..... if there were one outside every school then a lot less kids would be getting hurt or worse... but the revenue would'nt come in as fast as it does when they are placed on a nice open bit of road and catch you 10 mph over the speed limit at 3am...
priorities and all that.... and yes, it did happen to me a couple of years ago....

[rollazuki]

Since progress and technology has lead to the widespread use of cars, even for minor journeys, mebbe we should think about ways to accoomodate them, rather than sweep the problem around from one place to another.

Mothers will take kids to school in cars. Thats the end of it, I live near my kids school, my kids walk wherever possible, but if theres been delays at home, or my wife is needing to get to work the kids will go in the car. Thats the way it is. Maybe schools and councils should get their heads round the fact that this will continue to happen, and make provisions for it.

Ive looked long and hard at the EMPTY school playground in a morning, and at the FULL road outside.

You see where Im heading ?  Entrance into playground, drop kids at school room door, entrance out.  Safe, no kids wandering outside to get molested, or knocked down, and no cars on the road.

Pls dont mention the pollution aspect, the kids that walk have just followed the pavement at the side of an already busy road....

I think we are looking at the problem all wrong.

[sleeplessparadise]

I agree with you there rollazuki.........my children dont go to the village school any more as they are too old but when they did we had to drive them cos we lived 6 miles away. Just behind the school is a pretty little area granted with grass n trees and a pond and Im not saying all of it should be used for parking but they could use at least half of it for school parking or a drive through as you say and still have the place looking pretty. I have lived in this village all through my childhood and then moved back here last year and can honestly say there are not many folk use the area in question but our village is used as a rat run for idiots trying to avoid the traffic at Tong cemetry and the speed humps they put next to the school a few years ago have made no difference so a car park would definately be the better option......safer for the kids and other road users!

[Lostboy]

And of coarse half the problem is that thanks to government 'efficiency' drives there are less schools now than their used to be, so people have to drive more. Kids are more at risk, I would certainly want them supervised (protected?) on their trip to school (if I had some that is!)