A school run mum blocked the driveway then refused to move when asked to

[DillyDallyDayDream]

I work a few doors down from a school/preschool as a nanny. The house has a doubled dropped kerb and double driveway.
I'd dropped my charge off at school and was getting the younger ones into the car when one of the preschool mums parked her huge 4x4 across the dropped kerb of the house I work in.
I asked her politely to move her car as I was going out and told her she can't legally block the driveway. She got quite arsey saying that she was late and there was no where else to park.
Was I being unreasonable to ask her to move??
Was I being unreasonable to report her to the local pcso after school whilst they were monitoring the parking?

[EverlongLovesHerChristmasRobin]

Oh crap you said 4x4 should really hide the thread.

[Offred]

Don't think you are unreasonable to mention the car was a 4x4 because "not being able to park it anywhere" is often because of having a ridiculous and unnecessarily huge car that takes up a lot of room.

That is without even mentioning that a lot of 4x4s are not even four wheel drive now and they are inappropriate and dangerous to take on the school run due to the poor visibility offered to the driver of child pedestrians, the poor visibility pedestrians have around them when crossing (especially children) the road and the double parking/rushing/carelessness which often happens at school drop offs which exacerbates both the above problems AND the lack of spaces that will fit a pointlessly huge car. I think unless you live in an extremely rural place you have to be inherently inconsiderate of others to own a 4x4.

If this woman was late then that's her problem, she needs to park safely, legally and possibly further away because being late is less bad than blocking someone's driveway. Or alternatively she could get up in time to get her children to school.

[Northernlurker]

Yanbu - either to report her or to mention the type of car. Of course some 4x4 drivers are lovely. And some aren't. Lovely or not though a 4x4 is a BIG car to have in your way.

At our school there are some parents who think it's fine to stop in the zug zags. In fact I think they believe it denotes a special 'entitled wankers may pause here' zone.

[Offred]

Next time take photographs and complain to the police.

[Offred]

The one at our school which pisses me off the most is a dickhead who brings his two children to school in his two seater Ferrari with personalised number plates every day. Surely has to be a serious question over his parenting if he can afford any car but chooses one that puts his children at risk every morning on the school run.

[BikeRunSki]

My street requested resident's parking because of school run mums (and my next door neighbour is a child minder which compounds the problem ). It hasn't made any difference, I am still regularly blocked in and late getting DS to nursery and me to work, but I do get to feel and evil joy when I see a traffic warden pottering down the road (not that I will have rung up the parking office for a moan or anything ).

[Ginandtonicandamassageplease]

No, you're not being at all unreasonable. I never realised how much hatred there is for 4x4 drivers before MN! Not you OP, you understand! Some of them are pretty sizeable, especially when parked in the bloody way!

[Rindercella]

Everlong.

[JammySplodger]

YANBU. If she does it again, take a photo and e-mail it to your psco.

[digerd]

In our area you can't get a taxi until after 9am due to their school runs during term time. Obviously they are not nursery children, but our local nursery at bottom of our road has mums walking to it in all weathers.

The police came twice to a neighbour of ours when their neighbour's daughter blocked their driveway and refused to budge.

[StrawberriesTasteLikeLipsDo]

PIL live opposite a junior school, have had their drive blocked numerous times. MIL actually been threatened when she asked someone to move! FIL got so sick of this that for a time he kept a rather large mallet in the porch. People are inconsiderate and entitled!

In contrast there is a school at the end of our road, it fronts the main road access is generally gained from the end of our road as the parents can park. There are no drives on our road but a few garages. Garages Always blocked at pick up times. The parents park like knobs, on double yellows etc, I actually had to insist a man move his car from my severly disabled neighbours space after he told her to "either wait or fuck off!" again just pathetic and entitled.

YANBU OP!

[Offred]

People's attitudes to the school run and cars are ridiculous. When we have had bike it days or walk to school incentives people drive to school with bikes in the boot (saw a couple parked on the zigzags unloading bikes) and park round the corner and walk round to get the free stuff without doing the work. When I raised school parking at the PTA there was a chorus of "we always try to walk to school... Unless it is raining" from parents I see in there cars on every bright sunny day. There is one man who drives his child despite living just beyond the parking crush on the same street as the school. I ride a cargo bike two miles+ to school every day, rain, 60mph wind, hail, whatever, now the big kids also ride their bikes everyday too so I have absolutely no patience with this kind of inconsiderate crap especially when for a lot of them walking but definitely bikes would get them home quicker and more cheaply (they live nearer than me to school and I pass their homes before they get home having dealt with parking chaos and strapping toddlers into car seats).

[EverlongLovesHerChristmasRobin]

[TwoFacedCows]

i would have got in my car and kept my hand on the horn until she moved. actually i would have gone and keyed her car

[AGreenie]

I often sit in my car with my hand on the horn beeping so that the inconsiderate person who has parked over my drive can realise their mistake and move their car - very rarely get an apology, generally they finish their shopping first.... Some people are just so self absorbed that they don't think about the impact of their actions in other people!

[amck5700]

I live in a cul-de-sac and the school is accessible by a path from the street. I don't generally have an issue with people using the street as a dropping off/picking up point - most people park responsibly........however, to get into the street there is a narrowed entrance (traffic calming) that leaves room for only one car. I finish work in order to be home for school coming out time. As my son is now in the last year of primary, i don't need to be in the playground or even be home on the dot of school finishing, so often I am coming into the street as all the pick up people are leaving. It's the fact that no-one wants to let me into my own street and gives me dirty looks for even attempting to that annoys the shit out of me. Obviously their need to get wherever they are going takes precedence over my need to get home for my own child.

[ouryve]

YANBU.

[ShellyBoobs]

This '4x4' hysteria is hilarious, to be honest.

My best friend has a Toyota RAV4 4x4. It's smaller than a fucking MINI.



There are loads of 4x4s which are no longer than a normal hatchback.

[Offred]

The rav4 is wider and higher than a mini and around the same length. It is a crossover anyway isn't it?

[SofiaAmes]

I don't understand why the parents at all these schools don't organize a "kiss and drop" for dropping off the children so that no one has to park. All the local elementary schools here in Los Angeles have these. Basically volunteer parents (and sometimes some school staff assist) stand at a designated location in front of the school gate. (You will need a few cones to mark out where the cars line up). The cars pull up and parents open the doors and help the kids (and all their junk) out of the car and then the child walks straight into the school and the parents drive off. There are usually 3 or 4 parents there, so 3 or 4 cars can be stopped/emptied at a time. It's convenient for the parents. Great for the school because kids arrive on time (no parents late because they can't find parking) and there are no complaints about parking in front of neighbors.
When I lived in London, the private school (Japanese School) across the street had this arrangement. We lived directly across the street from the school and almost never had a problem with people parking in front of our drive.

[amck5700]

We have a drop off zone like that for High school Sofia - works great in the mornings but is useless at going home time as people have to wait for their kids to come out and that's a bit less predictable than at primary so they need to park usually.

[Offred]

Sofia - because in our case; a. there isn't room on our street for this b. to do it with every driver would take too much time and everyone turns up and leaves within about 10 mins and c. The school don't let you drop children into school before the bell rings at 8.55. They ask that you arrive at 8.45 and wait with the children in the playground until the bell goes when they line up and go in together.

[Offred]

I actually don't see why most people drive their high school kids to school at all.

[RedToothbrush]

Get your camera out. Take photos when she is doing it. Tell her you are informing the police because she rude and refuses to move. See how quick she moves then.

Failing that, print of the picture and supply it to the school. make sure you get pictures of her kid and her face. If that fails get A3 print out and post it on a lamp post. Name and shame the ignorant bitch

(spot the person fed up of inexcusable fuckwitted parking at local high school)

[simplesusan]

Yanbu at all.