AIBU about selfish arseholes parking on zigzag lines in front of school?

[lolaflores]

WHY do folk do this? Why do they do it even though there are endless signs around saying not to do it? How unspeakably stupid and selfish can a person be. Yesterday at my dds school there were about 9 cars top to tail on the zig zags. Happily, parking attendant zipped up and ticketed several.

Has any one successfully managed through the school or other means to get people to think about the safety of their own kids and others?

Grinding my teeth

Maybe surreptitiously dropping a quantity of tyre- puncturing nails :)

Some people simply don't care about others. They don't care about the effect of their actions on others. They are selfish.

They will say that they are only there for "a minute", as though there is some sort of grace period when it comes to obstructions and hazards They always have a 'reason' why it is totally vital that they park right there. And they actually believe it and they think that anyone who challenges them is utterly unreasonable and horrible and just doesn't understand.

Now, funnily enough, these people are the very same people who would be shooting off their mouths if they were inconvenienced by others. Because, you see, the arrogance is such that THEY can walk all over other people, but the world must bend to accomodate THEM.

You won't get through to them, because they truly think they should be allowed. They don't see why they can't, they think it's a stupid rule there for no reason and doesn't apply to them. Nothing will ever happen, because it's them.

It's really nothing about the parking as such. The parking is just an example. It is who they are as a person.

Selfish. Ignorant. Thick.

Tashhag, how easy would it be to stagger occasional start times so that someone from the school could be outside?

If you mean stagger start times of the TAs, mullypeep, then no, because most of them are parents who have to get their children to other schools first. Yes, you could have someone out there occasionally, in fact we do, but that only works for that day, next day they are back again...

I am sick of nagging the pcso at our school. she just stands there and says they don't like to tocket as it alienates the parents. she will soeak to people parked really badly.

apparently it depends on where the parking is as to who tickets - police if on corners etc and council in the car park (free) right next to the school. what drives me crazy is people parking jammed up against the door of the school, rather than 20 steps away in the car park!

Schools need to accomodate parents who wish to do 'drive through' collections of their DCs at the end of a long day.

how hard is it to walk a few meters? Witnessed one woman park up her audi on the zig zags looking delighted with herself to have bagged such a prime space. I think I will start to pass a comment here and there. We are all responsible for the world around us. I am a new parent at the school and don't want to get all arsey too quickly but I think teh end of my tether is quickly appearing.

Drive through pickups?
How would that work. All 8 classes ready and waiting at gate. Parent drives up, selects appropriate child who is then called forward, car pulls off and then next car pulls up?
Oh except that having lots of classes lined up beside the gate would be madness. The queue of cars would b ridiculous and after child has been called from line to get into their car they would probably drop a lunchbox and spill the contents, realise they have forgotten their jumper and have to run back to get it. And then the parent who is in such a rush they have to do a drive through will probably demand to talk to teacher (through car window-god forbid they get out) about their Childs reading level.

Surely it would be quicker for all if parents just parked down the road a bit and just walked.

I was not being serious madaki. It amazes me that some peoples arses are so firmly welded to their precious car seats that they can't walk a few paces. You only have to look at the number of people who think it's ok to use loading bays/double yellows/disabled spaces/p & c spaces to see how dependant our society is on their car. I am only surprised that some people don't take them to bed with them.

Why don't schools spend some money on getting those stinger thingies that police use to take out the tyres of cars. They can spread them out over the zigzags at drop-off/pick-up times.

It always amuses me when people going to the gym park as close as possible (in disabled spaces if necessary) to the door.

Can you not get traffic wardens out? There will always be offenders and if they turn up everyday that should get the message through?

Talking of disabled spaces, I went to the cinema this week and when we came out every car that had parked in a disabled space without a badge had been clamped. Brilliant plan I thought.

The reason that lots of schools can't solve this problem is that there is no carpark. Walking is not a solution for people who have to drive onto work/drop elsewhere/live too far away...etc.

There is absolutely no parking at our school - every street is fully parked up in every direction. Once you go three streets away, there is ANOTHER school which is also generating huge amounts of traffic so the problem is even worse.

I really think this is an error in planning by the school/council - it is just a fact that people need to park around schools, so safe and legal parking needs to be created.

It is all very well to be cross about zigzags/yellow lines - but what is the other option? (Bear in mind that our school is near another primary and 2 secondaries so just going further and further away is not really a solution because parking is a major problem for all these schools, none have carparks).

Lurk around until they return to their cars and take a photo of the driver. Print off the picture with the caption 'BEWARE! This person is a danger to your child!' Then stick them up all over the school gates and nearby lampposts and trees.

I like the stinger idea!
Running the risk of a massive flaming, surely since the catchment areas of popular primary schools are ludicrously small, all children should be within walking distance of school, and it would actually take longer to get kids in the car and drive to school? My DDs school has a one way system for cars at school run times, and staff watching the zigzags each morning (usually the head).
I have seen road safety campaigns started by the school children themselves, but then again I have seen parents cheat on walk to school week by parking round the corner from school.

bluelaguna, so there is no parking. chose a school with a big enough car park then. if you are within the catchment area of a school, you should be able to walk and or use public transport to some extent.
"all very well to be annoyed" you great big doughnut. they are for the protection of children. Not to be an obstacle to happy go lucky car drivers.

Everyone who drives to the school gates perceives that they need to drive there for their valid, to them, reason. Truth is, a few do need to drive but most could find another way to get there.

lola - I chose the school that I thought suited my child's education the best!! Not for a carpark!!

Anwyay I go half an hour early and drive round until I find a space. But it is a hassle and waste of time. No doubt people take exception to this as well but there is only so much a person can do. There are plenty of schools needing carparks and the only solution is to actually provide them.

Yes. Car parks would be good. But - where from? Often there is no land next to the school, even if the school could afford to buy it!

So what do they do? Try to buy land to build a car park? with what money? would the parents put into a fund perhaps?

Tarmac over the school field to turn it into a car park for those 15 minutes a day when parents need to park?

Knock down a few houses around the school to turn them into a car park?

I mean, saying schools should have a car park is all well and good, but how do they acquire one?

Hecate - that isn't my problem to solve, or yours presumably. People who are employed by the school/council need to solve the problem.

'Pull a car park out of your arse, it aint my problem how', basically then?

Many things aren't my problem. Doesn't mean I don't understand the difficulties involved or have an opinion on them. If you think that something should be done, it is not unreasonable to assume that you have an idea how it can be done. If you can't think of a way - what makes you think they can?

Reading some of the posts on here it seems some schools do have nearby car parks but some parents are just too lazy to use them.

Putting a child's life in danger is never acceptable, no matter what the excuse.

I've been told by the school to do this. I'm a childminder with younger children, one of whom is autistic. He can't cope with the playground, parents will NOT shut the gate after them so children can easily get out of the playgrond and it's a small rural school with inadequate parking.
I risk assessed, knew it would be disastrous to try and take them all in and asked the school for help. That's what they advised.
I did think of arriving later, but the parents stand around gossiping or go to the park and leave their cars for ages. Arriving earlier isn't an option because parents turn up so early to get a parking spot.

So that's what we do. On the days I have the autistic child, I park right outside the school by the gate: the kids are standing there with their teacher, get straight in the car and we go.

Sorry if you think I'm arrogant and selfish: if you have a better solution, I'd love to hear it!

it is the sense of entitlement that gets me. i am entitled to park here because there is no car park. that does not require much insepction to be exposed as a seriously flawed reason to endanger children and create havoc around school gates. and to do so because an unthinking person in some grey office somewhere didn't have the foresight 50 years ago when only a few people had cars, to consider your needs in 2011, well carry on regardless. You can twist the universe to suit your needs obviously