To think that school run drivers are selfish cunts?

[GladAllOver]

Just that. They park anywhere and everywhere, regardless of other drivers or local residents.

Our primary school has nowhere to park, and I mean nowhere there is no allocated space for cars only staff parking. I've been forced onto the road with my double pram and 4yr old as so many drivers park over the pavements. They only take in children 2 mile or closer, I don't understand why parents don't just walk with their children!

Theproblem is that everyone who drives dc to school is adamant there is no alternative, that their situation is unique and that there is no solution and that they are not part of the problem anyway.

It is always the ‘others’. The people who bought a house near a school, the people who live close, leave late and park badly, the pub that stopped their car park being used, the after school activity 10 miles away in the countryside, the unflexible employer.

I thought the same way until I realised how much I hated the school run, the damage it was doing to my kids in terms of air pollution, seeing my stress and other stressed parents and the risk of accidents.

I now take it in turns with other mums to walk 6 kids to school (over 2 miles and several roads to cross), one day a week youngest cycles in a cycle train (which is huge and very cool according to him!) and hoping to increase that to everyday, both ways as he gets more confident. I have dialysis three days a week and also work full time hours around that, with lots of other hospital appts which can be short notice and inconvenient times. It would be much easier for me to drive the dc every day but I think the time spent organising and juggling is well worth it not to contribute to the awful school run and is much better all round.

I think this is a bit unfair.
Our school has a massive catchment area and has 600 pupils (primary)

People have to get their kids to school and on time and also have to pick them up.

Not everyone lives within walking distance.

The only place we can park is in residential are. Some parents have no other choice.
I have to leave the house ridiculously early to try and get a parking space and same for pick up.

It’s a nightmare by our school but what are we supposed to do? Maybe councils should offer more in the way of school buses. I can’t get to my school on public transport.

I do feel sorry for our local residents but I also feel sorry for parents who are just trying their best.

Our local school is over subscribed and has been for years but the council are doing nothing to alleviate the pressure on the school.

I’d say you were a goady fuck because no one at our school parks like this, but in DDs old school it was pandemonium. It can be truly awful, but then not all places or people are the same

I agree, nearly got run over today while walking to work (not for the first time). I was crossing a road when a mum suddenly turned into the road I was crossing without indicating and nearly hit me. She didn't even look at me.

I have to pick ds up 10 minutes before school starts kicking out, 20 minutes before the juniors finish.

As he can’t cope with the walk home I have to drive. I park about a 3-4 minute walk away because even at the earlier time I can’t park outside school because so many people are sat their, including at least two parents of juniors who live within a 2 minute walk yet would rather sit in the car for over half an hour

I don’t get it! And even worse so many of the park dangerously.

Yep.

I've lost track of the amount of times I haven't been able to leave my drive to get to work because of some utter dickhead.

My new favourite is to come home at school time. If my drive is blocked then I pen them in.

SO much this. I live on a side road opposite my DDs' school and every single day someone parks blocking the lollypop man from crossing kids over, every day people are parked with all four wheels on the pavement at the corner making it difficult to get past (impossible if you have a pushchair!) and people park on all of the double yellow lines.

Periodically, DP gets super annoyed about it and emails the council who send out traffic wardens to give tickets, but it only stops the ridiculous parking for a day or two.

Yes many school run drivers are absolute selfish dicks. My dd's school are constantly sending out texts reporting complaints they have received from neighbouring houses/housing estates and asking people to be considerate. The school and residents have also approached the council about the issues, due to the high levels of complaints, and the warden is often seen waiting outside the school and surrounding areas to catch the worst offenders out. Last week we received a text because some arsehole had half parked on someone's front garden and, due to the heavy rain that afternoon, churned up the end of the resident's lawn when they pulled away. Just utter selfishness. The stupid thing is that I live a 7 minute walk from school and no one parks near my road where it's clear of cars and offers plenty of easy legal parking, the drivers all want to park within 30 seconds of the school entrance.

Your title is unacceptable, OP.

I'm not.

Some are.
what's the point?

I've noticed the drop off and pick up at the local village primary school is horrendous. It didn't used to be that way. I noticed it's parents picking up and dropping off their DC on their way to/from work. The major issue with the commute to school is that the parent is doing both directions so it's not a 10min walk but 25min (5mins to get them through the gate).

I struggle a lot in the mornings because I'm working from 5am, DH is normally out from 5:30 at the latest, that's if he is home. It's just not realistic to expect all dual working families to walk their DC to school.

I'm in London and there is a popular, over subscribed primary school in my road. The catchment is less than 500m apparently but half the pupils arrive by car
There is decent public transport too.
The trouble is the road is quite narrow and when cars are parked each side only one car can fit down the middle. This causes huge issues as half the cars are massive 4x4s (which are obviously essential in London) and some of the drivers so bad they can't seem to reverse them. I actually had to reverse a car for one poor lady who was stuck and couldn't reverse round a corner as she was so stressed out.
I don't understand why people do it. The traffic is so bad at rush hour that it can't be quicker to drive

Eugh didn't post the extra bit where I say that planners should be assuming working parents are commuting and plan accordingly. We have a drop off bay at my DCs school here in a highly urban area with a police officer directing traffic. You have about 30 seconds to get your kids out of your car once you are in the bay. After that the police officer is talking to the kids to get them moving.

I’ve had to start driving after my last landlord sold up so I’m now too far to walk.

Your not wrong op. Some are complete fuck wits, I don’t know what goes through their heads, driving on the pavement on blind bends, parking up the pavement so you have to go in the road. Over drives, hurtling at ludicrous speeds. Just stopping in the street making it single lane. Engine left running for the 20 minutes they arrived early to get ‘their’ spot.

I park a little way away and try to be respectful of the way I park to the residents as it’s shit for them.

At our school people park on the zigzags daily. Not many people live out of area and most are within a 15 minute walk. There is also a car park but that's a whole 5 minutes walk away.

I know some people have to drive their children to school but many others don't and are just lazy. It wouldn't be an issue if people parked properly.

Thanks for the responses.

We live very near a school. When we moved here, the school had 200 pupils. It now has 400. So the argument that "you should have known" doesn't really hold water.

I'd say there's a hardcore of 40% of school run drivers who are totally selfish and inconsiderate. Their only aim is to get as close to those school gates as humanly possible, and fuck everyone else. They don't care if we can't get the car off the driveway, or are blocking everyone else in. There is a large car park 3 minutes' walk away but their precious little pickle couldn't POSSIBLY walk that far.

Local residents complain. School sends out a "please be considerate" letter. People who were being considerate in the first place carry on doing so. People who park like twats don't care and ignore the letter.

Really pissed them off the other day - we are having work done on the house and it just so happened that the huge delivery articulated lorry arrived at 8.59am just as the twat parkers were blocking the end of the street (which is a turning space, not for patking in). They all returned to their cars to find that they were blocked in by the delivery lorry. I may have also encouraged the delivery guys to take their time unloading.

Yes it's appalling here, huge cars too despite being in a city with no need for 4x4's! School is twice the size of when we moved here 10 years ago

From your username you sound like you're local to me. I wonder what primary school you're talking of if you are? My old primary school was so dangerous at drop off & pick up times. Luckily my sons isn't too bad as long as I get there super early

OP I think you are, in the main, right. It happens at private schools with long drives and parking, too, when non-working parents insist on driving on to verges when there's parking two minutes walk away.

I sympathise with a parent with another baby dropping a young child off at an infant school in a rural area where there's no alternative but to drive. I also sympathise with the parent dropping off a child with another working partner at primary level when they have minutes to get to a crucial job And with all of those parents (rural or urban) who don't have a bus route that works and don't want their children cycling.

I do like the kiss and drop which I think was suggested by a US or Canadian poster. Surely schools could organise this and be proactive where it would help? However it would take staff or volunteers

I live in the 'burbs with excellent underground and bus routes but it is chaotic.

I agree about the secondary school dc making their own way and the Private Schools parents seem to cotton wool wrap their dc.

I can't believe the amount of people who drop their kids off at secondary school. My 2 prefer to walk in a monsoon than have me drop them off outside the school. I can drop them at the EMPTY car park at the end of the road though.

cross It has to be done by the police here. They would never let parents or teachers do it in my town because arrests have been made before. Now the police oversee it and everyone behaves including the parents.

Arrogant parents is truly a global issue.