Why drive 50yds each day?

[Ripeberry]

Weird situation but a parent lives right next door to the local school. There is no pavement to the school, only a busy road with lots of lorries (constant).
But at the back of the school, there is an unfenced playing field and a well kept non-muddy (paved) right of way that comes out into the school car park.

This parent mentioned that she has to drive as they don't have any wellies!

So she will continue driving each day, twice a day just because she has no wellies.

It boggles my mind!

Flippin 'eck, have you pointed out where the path is? Surely, it would be cheaper to get the kids wellies.

It takes about 6-7mins to walk DS & DD to school. One girl in DD's class lives about 2mins walk from the school and gets driven every day (even in sunny weather). Totally baffles me. I remember only twice seeing said child walking to school in 2 years.

We could walk to our school would take about 5 mins but I drive because the 5 mins walk back to the house to get the car so I can drive to work is the difference between being on time or being late for work. Therefore we drive even if it's sunny - do I deserve the scournful looks too?

i'm going to give ripeberry some credit here and point out that if the parent was going straight to work possibly ripeberry would have noticed this and realised that was why the parent was driving.

mrsunreasonable - when you have time off do you still drive, or do you walk?

I live 10 mins from school, but if I have to go somewhere (docts, hospital appt etc) straight from school then I will take the car. But actually its easier to walk than park the car!

If you are going somewhere else afterwards then your driving past the school on the way to somewhere else makes sense.

However, if it is a matter of driving a few hundred yards to school and then back home again that make sno sense. I know a few parents that do this too and it is mind boggling.

We dont have a car but we live next to the school DSs go to, we work from home and have all our shopping delivered. We deliberately chose the locaton of our house on the basis that we did not need a car.

I do think people use cars in a completely mindless way at times. It is yet another example of our society's over consumption. In many cases, people drive a car just because they can - not because they need to.

when my son was at his previous school I had quite a long drive.
On walk to school day we drove to a short 10 minute walk from the school.
After we walked about five minutes we used to wave at one of DSs friends who was being loaded into the car to drive that distance - every morning.

and

really lazy

if the drive really is only 50 yards, I'm sure she won't even save time by the time everyone has been bundled into the car, belts on, boot loaded, and parked. DD's nursery is about 75 yards away. I walk her over, and come back for the car to go to work. Far quicker and easier than the above.

poorbuthappy - as I work full time I don't have time off apart from in the holidays as the school system aswell as other child services eg Childrens Centres are all run on the basis that mums don't work

I know someone who drives to our school, who lives a couple of hundred yards away, in fact, I quite often park almost outside her house and walk my DC to school from there, rather than bunfight in the car park. Nice to stretch legs anyway for a few minutes, we live far too far away to ever be able to walk the whole way (5 miles). That last five mins of walking is nice to chat with DC and walk through the gate.

She, however, would rather battle through the traffic, sit and wait for car park for however long, then bunfight out again, and she doesn't then drive off to work or whatever, she drives back to where I have my car parked. Tempted to ask for lift . I can, sometimes, walk it quicker than she can drive it, especially including her -waiting-to-park- time.

We do only live just over a mile from the school, but it is down a lane with no pavement and the road as described above is impossible to cross as there is no pavement and it is on a staggered crossroads

Supposed I'm just sad that they have the perfect opportunity to walk but don't use it.

Each year we have new parents who start off walking to school, then by the October half term their nerves are shattered by the near misses they keep having.

They won't even impose a 20mph limit outside the school as it's not 'residential'

Why does it bother you so?

petty and NOYB