Aggressive woman-was I BU?

[NotAnotherUserName5]

Driving my DC to school today, and we get into the school car park. Was driving along behind two cars, a taxi at the front, then this woman's in front me me.
Taxi stops dead on a zebra crossing with no indication, car in front does the same. I wait a few moments then carefully drive around the two cars (one way system, so nothing coming other way)
Get my DC out of the car and this woman appears from the other car and gets out and starts being very confrontational and aggressive, telling me I should drive carefully (I do) we are all waiting you know, she wanted to get past the taxi too, but was waiting.
It was more the arm gestures and aggression on her face that shocked me.
My poor DC looked scared.

I told her I do drive carefully and that I was sorry to appease the situation. I was left shaking by her aggression!

Was I bu?

TheVanguard - can you explain what the OP did wrong? Because some of us can't see that she broke any rule or behaved unreasonably if she moved slowly over the crossing.

Yep to dad - plus she was using a second lane in a one way system, on an approach to a raised crossing where she has carefully looked for pedestrians, come to a stop at the crossing to check again before moving on.

Sorry but you don’t know if he’s parked to let someone out or if there is a little child about to cross that you haven’t seen. They could have opened the door on to you or you could have whacked a passenger about to get out. Yabvu.

Taxis often do park inappropriately because of passengers shouting “stop here!” suddenly or “just over there” and there’s no where to pull in. I’d assume he’d seen the crossing and pulled over to let someone out. And probably wouldn’t be expecting someone to overtake on a zebra.

They could have opened the door on to you or you could have whacked a passenger about to get out.

But that could happen passing a parked car anywhere! You could even have young child whose head is not visible inside the car incautiously opening the roadside door and jumping out. All we can do as drivers is drive at an appropriate speed and be observant to potential risks ahead so we can react in time.

Yes but if a taxi (usually with people in it) has just pulled over, that’s a clue that someone might get out. A car that’s been parked all night probably has less chance that someone will just randomly get out.

And the taxi was probably thinking that l a zebra is a safer place than the road side for children to exit as people tend to not be overtaking. Except in this case.

Yes but if a taxi (usually with people in it) has just pulled over, that’s a clue that someone might get out. A car that’s been parked all night probably has less chance that someone will just randomly get out.

True, so that is why in the taxi scenario driving at 7mph and watching the crossing carefully would be a good idea - plenty of scope to stop if needed. I believe the OP did this, so what's the problem?

Do people even read these threads properly?

The taxi parked on the zebra, wasn't stopped waiting before it!

She just switched lanes and stopped to look before carrying on across a zebra, driving at 7mpr. Op you did nothing wrong!

And the taxi was probably thinking...

"Thinking"? Your experience of taxi-drivers is a bit different to mine.

Sorry but you don’t know if he’s parked to let someone out or if there is a little child about to cross that you haven’t seen.

Did you miss the part where she stopped at the crossing specifically to check for pedestrians?

Yeah I do give taxis a wider berth because stopping to let people out is what they do all day. And esp as this was outside a school at drop off time - defo the added potential for someone about to get out. Yabu.

And the comment about ducklings might have been crossing? What the actual fuck!

MN has officially gone nuts

so basically if some twat decides to PARK on a zebra crossing, then everyone else just has to suck it up and wait there indefinitely, despite noone actually using the crossing. Right ok. What about in the real world?

Well I’d probably give it a few minutes. Like the patient but aggressive lady who OP also overtook.

IamPickle - I don't get your leap of logic from defo the added potential for someone about to get out. (true, I agree) to Yabu.

I think the conclusion is so you are yaNbu to drive slowly and observantly in the other lane which is there for that purpose.

Daddaddad. Well I would be wondering WHY a taxi had stopped outside a school, at drop off, on a crossing. That looks to me like someone is about to get out to go to school? So for not just waiting and instead trying to get round the taxi and another car, in the line of what is likely to be a child (as it’s a school) OP is BU. Is that clear?

Iam - again, I think the OP is well aware of the situation as you describe it and the potential for a child to appear in the road. But I still don't see how that gets you to the conclusion that the only course of action is to stop and wait, when a reasonable alternative is to drive forward in a manner appropriate to that situation, ready to brake in good time if indeed a child does emerge.

They haven't broken any rules and they haven't driven dangerously (or even inconsiderately in my view).

Agree with dad

The taxi driver parks like a twat, on* a zebra and op must have been quite back from the zebra if there was another car in front stationary too.

It was merely a lane change, and stop at zebra and carry on. No drama.

People double park at our school. You simply carefully go around!

Why didn't you just wait your turn instead of jumping what was clearly a que? I'd say that was part of the reason for her aggression I hate it when people think they are entitled to just jump a que especially on a on way system.

Blueasapp
Very easy after the event to say it was a queue.

I mean if that's somewhere she goes every day of the week it shouldn't have come as a great surprise that she should be waiting in line for the children in the cars in front of her to disembark before moving forward and following a one way system.

The fuck are you all on? Look at the diagram

The taxi was parked like a dick blocking the crossing. Not stopped at, or waiting at or anything like that. The crossing wasnt in use.

The car behind was dithering.

OP pulled out into the second lane, slowly overtook, and Crossed the crossing much like she would have done if she'd been in that lane anyway.

Literally did nothing wrong, except not telling the woman to feck off!

Blue - there was a queue in one lane, so OP moved into another lane. Perfectly normal driving, nothing to do with jumping the queue. (That would only describe pulling out of a queuing lane with the intention of trying to squeeze back into the queue further up, eg at an exit from a motorway).

@BlueSapp did you read the part where she said she passed the taxi and the woman, parked up herself in a space and the taxi was STILL THERE?? She had to wait there the whole time from to the taxi to shift??

Again, if op had been in lane 2 of this road and had been passing the so called 'queue', we wouldn't be having this conversation but as most people have decided that she 'over took' she was in the wrong. Which she wasn't, because she didn't overtake.

Op, you're still NBU.