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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

Crazy school car park behaviour - AIBU

52 replies

ImNotChangingMyUsernameAgain · 07/09/2016 16:11

This morning as I was reversing to park, another parent came right up behind me to prevent me from moving back. I was indicating and my reverse lights were on. I sat there for a couple of minutes and waited for her to catch on to what I was trying to do. Then I stuck my head out of the window and motioned her to move back or even go past me as there was enough room to do so. Eventually I got out and asked her to move so I could finish reversing.

Her response was: "I don't know what your problem is. Just let your kid out and go". I told her that my 'kid' was only 6 and I needed to park. To which she responded, "you're an idiot" and drove off like a maniac.

I simply cannot understand why a parent, who I will no doubt come across in the car park for the rest of the school year, if not many years to come, would be so unnecessarily rude.

And if you (the obnoxious Mercedes convertible driver) are reading this, two other mothers witnessed your behaviour and the school groundsmen know exactly who you are and will be watching out for you. HTH.

OP posts:

zzzzz · 07/09/2016 19:50

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

ivykaty44 · 07/09/2016 20:10

My dad lives in the next street to a junior school and there is awful behaviours

I have seen baby seats taken out of the car and placed on the road
Cars drive onto the pavement completely to get around a parked car - children and parents had to jump into gardens to escape.
Blocked drives, blocked roads
It's not safe to walk or cycle with parents driving like this

PikachuSayBoo · 07/09/2016 20:21

zzzzz

QueenieBob · 07/09/2016 20:33

Alternative ending Zzzz - not only was the child 3 but the mum wasn't actually sure who the father was & was hoping the school would do a Who Do You Think You Are on them & find out. The next day she was planning on chasing dad for backdated maintenance which she planned to spend on a chauffeur for the rest of the year

Original poster

ImNotChangingMyUsernameAgain · 07/09/2016 22:25

Pikachu - that parent was nonetheless crazy to leave a child like that.

OP posts:

Plornish · 08/09/2016 05:27

I sent an email to the school at the end of our street the other day, in the hope that the head would give some of the parents a bollocking. The school operates a very efficient drop-off system in its car park (like most American schools), but a handful of parents have decided that stopping in the middle of our street, or across driveways, and throwing their kids out, is a better idea. I'm genuinely terrified someone's going to get run over.

MooseBeTimeForSnow · 08/09/2016 05:48

Walking to school is a great idea in principle but not when its regularly -30 between November and March. Despite having access to those iconic yellow buses, many still drive. It's worse than herding cats.

Ditsy4 · 08/09/2016 06:18

We have a school car park ( a small one, less than 10 cars) for staff and several times I haven't been able to in because they are either blocking the access by parking across it or some cheeky bs actually parking and taking their child in! It is chaos in the street and some only live two streets away.

fittedcupboard · 08/09/2016 06:24

Large school in Elstree by any chance OP? I recognise your description!

CoolCarrie · 08/09/2016 06:30

We have a 'Peck and Go' zone in front of the school, but it is still a nightmare! Some drivers are so bloody inconsiderate to other drivers and pedestrians.

trafalgargal · 08/09/2016 07:10

We were a twenty minute walk from school and we always walked, we then moved further away for nine months then back again . I really missed the walk and hated having to deal with drop off chaos.
Walking was lovely , we'd have time to chat and stop and look as we walked, some friends who lived the same distance away couldn't understand why we didn't drive. When I had to drive to work straight from school it wasn't as nice for either of us. It's a rubbish way to start the day playing dodge the lunatics.

Cookingongas · 08/09/2016 07:28

It's mad! I'm in walking distance of school. But have switched to driving because the five streets that I have to walk through to get there include another 2 schools plus my school school.
Because of the driving it is simply not safe to walk . Walking down the pavement I was once nudged ( yes that's right she nudged my bum) by a CAR that a lady had driven onto the pavement to get around a car parked in the middle of the road. She was furious with me- and once I'd been nudged wound her window down to say I was stupid putting my kids lives at risk to prove a fucking point. I hadn't. But I am partially deaf so simply hadn't heard her. She could have beeped. Still wouldn't have made her right- but I'd have got out of her way faster at least.

So I now drive to school. Now that the baby is walking ( she was in a pram) I cannot walk with two children to school. If one let go of me for a second it could be deadly. Takes ten more minutes and I have to leave 20 minutes earlier- but there you have it

gabsdot · 08/09/2016 08:47

When our new school building opened there were lots of problems with parking and so we had a meeting about it with parents and teachers.
One parent actually suggested that the teachers should park in the nearby supermarket carpark and walk the 3 mins to the school to leave the school carpark free for parents.
Entitled much?

ProfessorPreciseaBug · 08/09/2016 09:06

The basic problem starts with the council..
They have a religious belief that people should not drive and especially people should not take children to school by car.. Never mind that bus services do not allow for a mum to drop children at two separate schools then go to work.
So instead of providing space for mums to drop children off and making life easy.. They introduce parking restrictions and enforcement cars and issue tickets...

Lets face it the upset experienced by the OP sould not have happened if the council had made provision for places to park..

c3pu · 08/09/2016 09:41

Parking at my kids school is very limited, and it's awful in the surrounding (residential) streets.

To save the ball-ache and tears I park at the co-op 5 minutes up the road and we walk the rest of the way. It's served me well for the past few years!!!

Cookingongas · 08/09/2016 09:53

Proffeser- I understand your point but a lot of schools are old buildings, built in residential areas at a time when cars were not so prolific ( as is the case of my children's school) the council have nowhere to build car parks and make provisions for it . So it comes downs to parents either choosing to park further away and walk in or parents driving through narrow streets parking dangerously ignoring zigzags and double yellows. Unfortunately most parents pick the latter.

KC225 · 08/09/2016 10:10

I used to live on a estate in South West London with a large private school at the end of the road. There were bollards at the bottom of the road to stop people using it as a cut through. The parents of the school would park in residents parking bays and block up the whole Street. They were so arrogant

Once when leaving for work, a guy from our block was trying to leave and a parent in a 4X4 would not let him out. He looked to me and said 'can you believe this' I nodded in agreement and she wound the window down and shouted 'And try can fick off back where you came from' with her baby and primary school kids in the back.

Andrewofgg · 08/09/2016 14:31

Women are on average more considerate drivers than men but the school run brings out the worst in drivers and most school runners are women so most of the appalling incidents outside schools concern them.

Professor How do you propose that councils should provide spaces for mums or even dads to park? How many wardens would it take? Who would decide who lived far enough away to use them, and what sort of ID would they have?

Come off it. School runners like all other drivers must manage with what there is; not park on the zig-zags, not block drives, not box people in. And I think you know it.

ivykaty44 · 08/09/2016 14:52

Lets face it the upset experienced by the OP sould not have happened if the council had made provision for places to park..

The some schools do make provisions to park - coop store car parks is one, church hall car parks, my local school used the old pub car park - none are used though. You can't force parents to use a carpark even if the council or school makes one available.

WaitrosePigeon · 08/09/2016 15:05

This sounds bizarrely very similar to our son. Doesn't start with a 'D' does it?

I've encountered the same behaviour. I don't understand it as we'll have to cross each other's paths repeatedly for years!

JacquesHammer · 08/09/2016 15:18

Local residents are sometimes difficult - and without cause.

Just to set the scene - at my daughter's school there's a road to a roundabout which turns down to school. On said road are 6 houses. All these houses have no access from the first road, it's simply the back of their houses.

One woman regularly complains about people parking outside her window

ChronicPainDaddy · 08/09/2016 15:31

My DD just started school on Tuesday and her school is on a very busy A road and has a very small staff only cark park. Most of the nearby side roads have double yellow lines to stop people using them and people seem to respect them. All the parents act responsibly and park in the nearby church car park and side road with yellow lines. The only crazy parking and behaviour I've seen is from the parents of the kids at the local high school a few hundred feet up the A road from the primary, busy bus stops filled, verges covered, traffic stopped on her busy road to let kids in/out etc and all this from kids who could be dropped off safely further away and walk in by themselves

ChronicPainDaddy · 08/09/2016 15:33

Park on the side road without double yellows even,

JensenAcklesUndercrackers · 08/09/2016 16:30

YANBU. School runs seem to bring out the worst in people. Our school don't allow parking on site, but people block the gates and all sorts so their precious kid doesn't have to walk an extra few feet.

BeckerLleytonNever · 08/09/2016 16:36

YANBU.
Theres a primary school at end of our road and 2nd day back and rthe twunty fuckers are already blocking our driveways and parking over the bus stop and zig zags and yellow lines.

us neighbours are sick to death of every single day coming out to tell them to move, only to get a verbal, the police do fuck all, the school even less.

I hate them. poor kids. what an example their parents set. (rolls judgy pants up to throat!)

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