I am puzzled.
A couple of months ago we moved to a small village outside Bath. It is a tiny little place with a single track road going in and out. It is about half a mile to the main road on the outskirts of Bath in one direction and about 2 miles or so to the other main road.
There is almost no traffic which is very nice after London...except between 7.30 and 9 in the morning when it turns into the M1. Everyone who lives to the south of the city and doesn't want to queue on the main road cuts down the little roads and through the village. The village council did a census and there was something ridiculous like 300 cars in the space of half an hour - ridiculous bearing in mind more than one car an hour is a major event for the rest of the day.
I have no issue with this - I would probably do it myself so this isn't a case of me standing on the edge of the village with a pitchfork shouting "Getorf my laaaand!" I go out in the opposite direction at 7.45 to take DS to nursery in the next village two days a week. It takes about 15 minutes to go 2 miles because I am going against the flow of traffic which means I am the one who has to squeeze into the hedge or siderows. I stopped over 20 times this morning.
What I do have a massive problem with is the attitude of a large number of the school run mums. It is presumably obvious to them that the very few people who are going the opposite way must live locally as no-one in their right mind would try to use it as a cut-through going that way. Every day, at least two of these women shake their heads at me as I sit in the hedge waiting for them to pass, as though I am being terribly unreasonable and inconveniencing them by leaving my house. This morning it was three.
The other day a mum refused to reverse into a passing space about 3 feet behind her even tthough the car behind reversed to give her room, so I finished up having to actually get off the road and into a shallow ditch, whereupon she shouted at me and waved her arms about.
This morning I had more mouthing and arm waving from someone who I was letting past.
Am I missing something here? Is it unreasonable of me to actually leave my house on a necessary journey while these women wish to use the road?
And before I get jumped on for generalising, it is not all of the women, and yes, it is absolutely limited to women with school-age children in the car. The bulk of the rest of the traffic is made up of local business guys in vans and they are always polite and thank me, or look apologetic.
I am seriously considering adopting an "I'm not moving" police tomorrow. I might take a book to read and get it out during a who has to reverse stand-off. Or I might wind my window down and tell everyone I pass that the road is closed and I have had to turn round and come back.
Grr!
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Please
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AIBU?
to drive through my own village?
56 replies
TandB · 17/02/2011 20:55
OP posts:
mrsmoores ·
17/02/2011 21:05
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Message withdrawn at poster's request.
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