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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

AIBU for getting totally pissed off when it's school run time?

58 replies

questforanswers · 10/07/2011 15:26

I live on what is, normally, a reasonably quiet road with a (fantastic, got to be said) school at the end of it. It bloody well winds me up that between the hours of 8.30 and 9.30am and 3.15 and 4.00pm I can't get out of my drive without almost mowing down a child or hitting oncoming traffic and at the worst times the traffic is backed up from one end of the road to the other (it's a mile long!!). The lollypop lady stops the traffic for a single parent and child and doesn't wait for a bit of a queue to build up and on friday waited in the middle of the road for someone who hadn't even got to the gates yet Angrydespite nobody else waiting to cross. Common sense seems to go out of the window for those that have decided to drive to the school and how a day goes by without an accident I will never know. I know that I will be one of these parents at the school gates in a couple of years but I will walk to the gates (people 3 doors up from me drive......why?!) and cross the road outside my house to avoid the lollypop lady. These times mon-fri are absolute no-go times and I'm finding myself feeling frustrated because it almost dictates when I do things throughout the day. I have also seen people arrive at 2.30pm to pick their children up, just so they get a space near the school (why not just leave later but walk?)
AIBU?

OP posts:
StickyFloor · 10/07/2011 16:33

My children attend a village school where parking is a nightmare and parents run the gauntlet of local residents who regularly come out to shout at us for parking perfectly legally in front of their houses! We wonder what is wrong with these weirdos who bought a house by a school and then seem surprised to see children and parents coming and going.

I live a 20 minute drive away from the school and get there at 2.30 to park. Believe me I have many better things to do with my time, but there is no alternative.

OP you appear to have no idea what it is like for most parents doing the school run and you might want to wise up before your lo starts at school or else the other parents who have no choice but to join the scrum will think you are bonkers.

soverylucky · 10/07/2011 16:47

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

MrsPotionsMistress · 10/07/2011 16:52

The problems in these situations is not the parking per se, it's the bloody stupid, thoughtless parking.

Parking on the whole pavement.
Parking on both sides of small roads.
Parking over dropped kerbs.
Parking on corners.

You wouldn't pass your driving test if you did any of these, because it's not safe. Doubly so when there are lots of small children around.

CurrySpice · 10/07/2011 17:08

It seems that the OP isn't only surprised that there's cars there at school run time, but children too!! Shock

wellwisher · 10/07/2011 17:10

YABU.

Perhaps you should consider using your car less and walking more so that you aren't slowed down by school run congestion?

BalloonSlayer · 10/07/2011 17:22

Unfortunately if you don't have school-age DCs, you don't tend to think too much about "there's a school in the same road as my dream-house, will it affect me in any way?" when house hunting. I fondly imagined my DCs walking to school on their own, until the first time I walked to school with them myself and realised how fast and dangerous the road was. Similarly, a friend of mine, house-hunting pre-DCs, didn't actually notice that the fast main road her house is on doesn't have any pavements at all, so she has to drive everywhere with the DCs, even to things within walking distance, making everyone think she is lazy.

When we moved into our village, I was always puzzled how, if I wanted to stop the car to post a letter in the post box, at some times this was easy because there were no parked cars, at others impossible because it was choc-a-bloc. I think we had been here about two years before I twigged that there was a school in the road Confused.

So YANBU, OP but you may just have to move. I am so glad I don't live in the same road as our school.

Hassled · 10/07/2011 17:29

People are being too harsh on the OP - the lollipop lady does sound like a complete fool for holding up traffic for the sake of someone who hasn't even reached her. Ours has a sort of holding area and waits until there's a respectable number of crossers.

I live opposite a school - but it's not the school my DS3 attends as the road forms a catchment boundary and we're the wrong side. Our school is better anyway, so nah. OP - that's how odd things get re catchments.

Anyway - the parents park like nutters. I appreciate they need to park somewhere etc but really, there seems to be something about parking/school runs that makes some people go mental. There's a gritted teeth "I will fucking park here come hell or high water" approach to it all that is worthy of comment.

nokissymum · 10/07/2011 17:35

luna you are in a fantastic position, you are right opposite a ps,so you will never grow old! and if ever you get are too tired and stressed out, you can just hop next door and pray for mercy.Smile

blackeyedsusan · 10/07/2011 17:53

you live near a school so you should expect some traffic....

however, the parking of some people, well, Shock one person pulls up onto the pavement right on the corner of the road, reducing visibility trying to cross, another regularly parks on the double yellow lines. nd the number of people who drive off the pavement endangering my childrens fet without checking in their wing mirrors is phenomenal.

Original poster
questforanswers · 10/07/2011 18:13

Curryspice do you really think I'm stupid enough not to expect children in an area where there is a school? Seriously that wasn't supposed to be constructive now was it?! As I said in the beginning, it was the summer holidays when we moved in so therefore no mental parents blocking both sides of the road, no over-zealous lollipop lady letting one car go past then stopping the traffic (again), no 25 minutes to get to the hospital down the road which is a 4 minute drive (and before you say anything I learned very quickly that walking is a damn sight quicker so my car stays in the drive), no cars damaged by buses that can't fit because of said cars blocking the road (the whole off-side of a chrysler voyager was dismantled by a bus last week....ouch expensive!). I actually like the children going to school and can't wait to be part of that but why can't people just use their common sense?

OP posts:
Original poster
questforanswers · 10/07/2011 18:16

Oh and I do walk, as much as possible, but we live in an area on the outskirts of possibly the most hilly town in England so if I need to shop I need my car. Why should my plans change because it's school time? Why should I have to leave an hour earlier than I want to? Or even an hour later?

OP posts:
pictish · 10/07/2011 19:23

Because you bought a house next to a school?

HenriettaJones · 10/07/2011 19:38

YABU.
Yes school traffic is annoying, but count yourself lucky it's not a secondary because then your front garden would resemble a recycling centre...

Agree with others that you were naive to buy a house on the same road as a school and then wonder about the pedestrians and traffic.

Why should my plans change because it's school time?

Why should everyone else's plans change because it's your shop time? You own the house, not the road.

YANBU to find it annoying, but YABU to feel that there's some kind of injustice or to be the judge of whether people ought to drive/walk/cross the road at a time convenient to you.

Eddas · 10/07/2011 19:42

thing is, though it's annoying what exactly do you expect the parents to do? If you live too far away to walk or have another reason why you need the car to collect the kids, how should they parents do it? We have the same problem at my dc's school parking is a nightmare and as much as I feel for the people living on the road there is no choice but to park (legally I may add) and annoy people with congestion. I'll give you an example, for me I have dd at school and ds(4) who has to come on the school run with me, now it may seem as though I can park at the bottom of the hill (our school is at the top of a lovely steep hill!) and walk up in plenty of time as most people assume I don't work! I do work, school hours but it's a tight fit time-wise so I arrive with 15mins ish to school collection time. Plenty of time for me to walk all the way up but not ds, so I try and get parked as near to school as I can so that ds doesn't whinge and moan at me after a day at work. Once ds starts school I will park lower down, good exercise for me Grin

I think once you accept that there are two possible solutions you will get less annoyed by the issue (a) move (b) accept that between certain hours, certain weeks of the year it is a PITA but you know the times/weeks so can work round it

mousesma · 10/07/2011 19:47

I can understand why it might be frustrating but if you choose to buy a house next to a school then you have to be prepared for this eventuality.

It's a bit unproductive to get annoyed about it seeing as there is nothing you can do to stop it. It really doesn't limit you that much, it's only 1 hour 45 mins out of 5 days a week so it really isn't difficult to plan around.

Mollymax · 10/07/2011 20:07

Our catchment primary school is 2.4 milea away, so a 40 - 50 minute walk.
You are very lucky to live so close to the school your dc will probably attend for 6 years of their lives.
When that time comes and you are walking them every day, you will forget about how annoyed you are now.

CurrySpice · 10/07/2011 20:12

OP I assumed from your comment "It bloody well winds me up that between the hours of 8.30 and 9.30am and 3.15 and 4.00pm I can't get out of my drive without almost mowing down a child" that the children walking along were getting on your wick too. Forgive me if I'm wrong

yearningforthesun · 10/07/2011 20:16

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

chutneypig · 10/07/2011 20:26

I also have a primary at the end of my road. I don't object to the extra traffic, it's to be expected. I do object to those that park blocking the pavement or the road itself. If I am leaving at that time, I don't want to be forced onto the wrong side of the road because someone won't walk an extra minute from where there is ample safe parking - outside my house as it happens. I don't like having to walk my two preschool children into the road because of cars parked on the pavement. I'm also astonished that people aren't more careful of their own cars, having watched a bus trying and failing to get past last week.

Overall, I consider myself lucky. I've lived near several primaries, and at least here it's the minority who park inconsiderately as opposed to the majority.

mrskbpw · 10/07/2011 20:43

I also live close to a (huge) primary school. The school traffic is horrendous. The school is on a busy main road on a sharp bend, but that doesn't stop parents parking in ridiculously dangerous place. They also start arriving from 1pm, seriously. I think if you've got time to sit and read in your car for two hours, you've got time to walk to school. My son starts there in Sep and I am fully intending to launch some sort of anti-school-run campaign. I don't often drive during the week, so I am speaking as a pedestrian. I avoid going anywhere near the school until well after 3 pm because it's so scary! So OP I completely sympathise and think YANBU.

CurrySpice · 10/07/2011 20:48

mrskbpw maybe wait a while till you start campaigning!! :o

OmniaParatus · 10/07/2011 21:03

Yanbu. Until you live near a school you cant appreciate how inconsiderate people can be. It may only be a few people who are really thoughtless but they are the ones who will be there every day because they will be the last to consider parking five minutes walk away.

My local school s scary solution is to make my street one way and build a car park in the grounds, at the expense of playground space. This will encourage more people to drive in, so more chance of accidents, and people just wont watch out for kids if its a one way system. Two children have already been knocked down and im really worried this will lead to more accidents, to say nothing of how unhealthy it is to ferry kids everywhere and not let them walk while giving them less outdoor space to exercise in.
If they had pedestrianised the two streets adjaicent to the school it would have been much safer.

joric · 10/07/2011 21:06

As mrs potions said:
Parking on the whole pavement.
Parking on both sides of small roads.
Parking over dropped kerbs.
Parking on corners.
Add to that...
Parking over drive entrance
Parking opposite drive so can't reverse out
Parking on yellow lines outside school gate

No problem with people driving children to school ( I do it) but parking and crossing inconsiderately is thoughtless and rude.
I have to get to work really quickly after dropping off so, we get there early, I turn car round to face the way I want to get out and we walk down to the school. We wait and watch for 15 mins as the traffic piles up in the never-ending quest to park as close to the school gates as possible despite there being no more space.
YANBU at all- you can't stand the thoughtlessness of some people and neither can I.

joric · 10/07/2011 21:12

The fact that you live near a school is neither here nor there BTW I'm sure you knew it was going to be busy but that doesn't mean you have to put up with stupid driving/ parking etc.

NotSuchASmugMarriedNow · 10/07/2011 21:15

YABU - you could walk to work and get any shopping delivered.