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AIBU?

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Original poster

To be cross with the parents who park over our drive

126 replies

Crispspsps · 03/10/2016 22:42

We live opposite a private Catholic co-ed school. It seems like an ok school from what i have read. There is a main entrance on a main road, but there's a back entrance opposite our house. Every morning between 7.30 and 8.45 there is a continuous series of cars that stop over our drive to let their kids out, blocking the path, and almost continuous traffic up our road.. Then there are others who at 3pm park over our driveway for 10 or 15 minutes while they go in and do whatever and we can't get into our drive. I emailed the school about this last year and got a very nice reply that they would ask parents to be more considerate, but nothing has changed. I walk my kids to school each morning. I know everyone can't, but am pissed off with the traffic in my residential road because of this school, It's a small street. I don't want my 4yo to be smacked in the head by a Range Rover door opening, like he was this morning. Yes, I know I will get biscuits for this, but FFS it pisses me off.

OP posts:
SaltedCaramelEverything · 04/10/2016 07:43

I'm assuming you have a proper dropped curb in front of your driveway? If so, ring the council. We have our driveway registered with the council so if anyone blocks it, we can ring them and they'll send someone to ticket them. We've never had to do it (usually we're still at work when the school near us starts and ends) but some other neighbours have done it and word must have spread as its less of an issue now. Good luck!

mypropertea · 04/10/2016 07:44

Why don't the school lock the gate? This is completely in there gift to sort out.

Loafingaround · 04/10/2016 07:48

Agree with flumpy id pre haNd write some notes or get some more official/stern types printed and everytime this happens force yourself to go out and stick on their windscreen, maybe as suggested with a sticky solution to really get the message across. Telling school isn't enough and wont solve issue longterm, however on your note say you've noted down numberplates and are working with the headmistress on identifying the parents responsible as school agrees this cant continue.

57968sp · 04/10/2016 07:51

My son's primary school had a very strict parking policy designed to minimise the impact on neighbours. They even insisted on a one way system to ensure cars all entered and exited the same way for ease of movement. Nobody was allowed to park and leave their vehicle at pick up or drop off. Individual letters were sent out to parents who were unaware ( or ignored ) their rules and I can assure you this very rarely happened.
I naively parked in the school grounds on DS's first day ( mid-term ) to take him in and received a letter that evening in his school bag detailing the rules.Shock
It can be done if the school is really strict so keep on sending them emails and include photos and registration numbers. Ask to be informed of the actions they are taking to rectify the nuisance.

totalrecall1 · 04/10/2016 07:51

Parking over your drive is not on. However I for one am sick of people who live near schools complaining about legally parking on the road. Some of the house owners near our school have been abusive to parents who are properly parked just because they don't like the traffic or the parking at that time. It is ridiculous - it's a public road and if you buy a house near a school it is to be expected. Why do people who live on a road think they own the road - you don't. It's a bad choice to live near a school if you get wound up by parking.

SlottedSpoon · 04/10/2016 07:53

Miaow i disagree that the head's attitude is disgraceful. It's not her problem - she runs the school not the council!

If people are parking illegally there then involve the police and the council together. If people are parking legally there and you believe it's very dangerous to do so the contact the council and ask them to monitor and survey the area in question with a view to changing the parking restrictions there with safety in mind.

Don't expect the HT to get bogged down in arguments she can't win about things she can do nothing about.

SlottedSpoon · 04/10/2016 08:00

Piglet I am not missing that point at all, but the thing that the OP is moaning about is not illegal! Just inconvenient and irritating. Lots of the moaning that is always done on this subject is not about parking that is illegal, just that people dislike their road being treated as...er....public. Which it is. Confused

I don't deny for a second that lots of school run parents park like absolute twats, both illegally and dangerously.

PigletWasPoohsFriend · 04/10/2016 08:01

OP is moaning about is not illegal!

Parking accross your drive if you have a dropped curb is illegal as is blocking a pavement.

ShotsFired · 04/10/2016 08:03

SlottedSpoon Okay to pull in briefly without parking or getting out, just to set down or pick up passengers?

  • I was recently passing a local secondary school which chucks out at 3.30pm. There were already several cars sat outside waiting. It was 2.15pm. Didn't seem like "pulling in briefly to me"

And sometimes if you've driven anything up to 20 miles to get there, and most of the roads in the immediate vicinity have parking restrictions then the last thing you are going to do is park half a mile away and walk.

  • My mum used to park half a mile away and I'd walk down to meet her. No bother for me, less hassle for her and easier on the congestion for all the more sensitive mummies who had to be within 10foot of the entrance door.
shinynewusername · 04/10/2016 08:04

YANBU. My GP surgery is opposite a school. Every day, despite signs asking them not to do so, parents use our car park. Our elderly and disabled patients can't get a space. There is plenty of free parking on the roads nearby, but they won't bother to walk the extra 2 minutes. The selfishness is astonishing.

user1473454752 · 04/10/2016 08:07

I always take care not to park over someones driveway, last week I parked as normal and some twit parked behind me, he was blocking a driveway and right up my backside not giving e much room to get out, anyway picked my son up and waited in the car for the car in front to move, the twit behind started beeping me to move, so I waited even more! 1) he should not have blocked the driveway and 2) he should have left me more room to get out.

PigletWasPoohsFriend · 04/10/2016 08:07

And sometimes if you've driven anything up to 20 miles to get there, and most of the roads in the immediate vicinity have parking restrictions then the last thing you are going to do is park half a mile away and walk.

Parking restrictions are there for a reason, or do you think they don't apply to you?

SlottedSpoon · 04/10/2016 08:10

No, and I can see I worded that badly. What I meant was that if the restricted area is too wide meaning walking from there is too far, it's easier for people to pull in quickly to drop off rather than to actually park and get out.

I'm not advocating parking illegally, or ignoring restrictions - don't know how many times I have to say that!

HellsBellsnBucketsofBlood · 04/10/2016 08:11

Most parents I see seem to be really lazy about this. At DDs school they insist on blocking the whole road each morning despite there being a 'car gate' system like in the US (if you can't get in youre supposed to drive round the block and try again, not wait blocking the road), the fire station being on the same damn road, and ambulances and police often needing to get through. There are also multiple public car parks (free) within a 5 minute walk, and loads of empty and non vital residential streets within a 2 minute walk where they could park.

But no, they must drop their precious ones directly at the door. Walking is apparently impossible.

cdtaylornats · 04/10/2016 08:15

Caltrops are simple to make and effective.

To be cross with the parents who park over our drive
worldsworstchildren · 04/10/2016 08:25

This used to happen at my dc's school at both front and back entrances. In the end the council put up signs at the front prohibiting traffic turning into the road from the right so that it didn't interrupt flow of traffic. And stopped anyone using the back entrance at all.

SlottedSpoon · 04/10/2016 08:29

Brilliant cd

I bet they'd be illegal due to health and safety placed on the public highway or the pavement though, even if the OP used them across her dropped kerb.

HazelBite · 04/10/2016 08:35

In the 50's and 60's you all went to the nearest school to your home usually within walking distance. Yes car ownership wasn't so prevalent then but it seems really odd that some parents feel the need to travel 5-10 miles in urban areas all in the name of parental choice.
The local primary impacts hugely on me in terms of traffic congestion. Some parents drive their DC's extremely short distances for the sake of convenience.

myfavouritecolourispurple · 04/10/2016 08:36

I live in a road near a school (which my ds attended before he moved onto secondary school). Yes we knew the school was there before we bought the house.

We both worked full-time so we were gone before parents arrived, it was only the odd day that we were at home that we'd notice all the traffic. Oh and the Christmas fair when people insisted on parking in the turning area outside our house (we're at the end of a cul-de-sac) and we'd be equally insistent on getting them to move as there is a yellow line.

I was a school governor at the school for 8 years, and I was asked to go to a meeting about increasing the parking restrictions around the school - on my road and a couple of others. I annoyed the councillor by saying I lived in the road and did not want the extra restrictions.

Anyway, the extra restrictions were put in place. Not long after that I changed jobs so I was around a lot more and walked my son to school. It was only then, when I saw the entire road at school time, that I realised what a problem there actually was. It is simply unbelievable how people park over driveways, on grass verges and opposite other cars (there is a yellow line all the way up one side of the road). I didn't regret opposing the parking restrictions because I don't think they've helped, but I did realise that you can buy a house near a school without realising the extent of some parents' selfishness.

NataliaOsipova · 04/10/2016 08:37

Hmmm. Some and some here? You are unreasonable to be pissed off with the school traffic when you've chosen to buy a house opposite a school! (I'm assuming the school was there first!). That said, you are absolutely not unreasonable to be pissed off if someone is actually blocking your drive and preventing you from getting in or out. I'd echo other suggestions: report to the police, photo and shame, put a very aggressive note on their windscreen with something nasty and sticky. Berate them loudly for their selfish behaviour when they return. But while I sympathise with the general traffic problem, it's par for the course with the location....

LunaLoveg00d · 04/10/2016 08:45

I live very close to a school and have the same issues. At the moment there aren't cars parked directly over my drive, but two very close by on the same side of the road and one directly across the road opposite which makes getting out practically impossible - i have a large people carrier type of car.

School constantly get complaints from local residents, they send out letters pleading with parents to be more considerate, the behaviour improves for a couple of days and then it's back to usual.

The irritating thing is that there is a car park no more than 3 minutes walk away but there appear to be a lot of parents who refuse to walk this short distance.

ChristmasAccountant · 04/10/2016 09:12

We're in a similar situation, entitled idiot parents thinking it's ok to completely block access to our road twice a day. After a lot of complaints to the council (from the majority of residents) we are now going to be residents only permit parking, it's taken 2 accidents and about 18 months to get to this point. The school has its own traffic wardens on patrol but there's still parents doing 3 point turns on a busy A road outside the school. And yes I knew the school was there when we bought the house but did not expect some of the idiotic driving I've seen over the years!

Snowflakes1122 · 04/10/2016 09:41

Yanbu. This is the same around the country. I wouldn't buy a house opposite a school as some of the parents just don't care how they park.

IceRoadDucker · 04/10/2016 09:42

Piglet I am not missing that point at all, but the thing that the OP is moaning about is not illegal! Just inconvenient and irritating.

Why are you defending people blocking her drive?

fittedcupboard · 04/10/2016 09:42

My son's school is next to a drive and parents (not me) park over it all the time. I noticed when I got back this term that the owners of the house have got three large orange cones and blocked the drive with it. Why not do the same? they aren't expensive www.amazon.co.uk/Safety-Cones/b?ie=UTF8&node=1939586031

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