To be shocked - Schools at pick up time are the most polluted area in a town?!!!!!

[ChristmasSprite]

Parents picking up outside school running engines are causing highest concentrations of pollution

*Christmas stats are freely available to look up, many reports and studies worldwide on pollution causing death

It does not surprise me one bit. My village has lots of high walls and you can literally smell the diesel. I’ve pushed and pushed the council to monitor it, but they don’t give a shit - or know the answer and don’t know how /want to resolve it.

The idling drives me potty, in the summer cars running for air con (without a hint or irony) and winter for the heater. Most people don’t need it on, bloody turn them off. I wish they’d do more to stop people.

yep, and ours do it on single yellow lines where they are not supposed to be parked either.

I had to collect my grandchildren from school last week and because road works scheduled in the next village hadn't started I was there about half an hour early. I parked in the road facing the school at the end of the white lines denoting no parking close to the corner. By the time I got out there were three cars in front of me, one half into the main road, there had been any number of gridlocks created by them and on our return the end one was still there blissfully having a chat with someone outside the car.
It was an entertaining half hour, the woman in the vehicle behind did her hair and applied full make up before teetering into the school.

Just use your feet like I do! x

Makes me laugh when people complain about the traffic and being stuck behind a queue of cars - what do they think they are? They are the traffic, but it’s never them is it 🙄

YANBU, clearly, but I don't think you know what 'bears shit in the woods' means!

Onthenaughtystep but you were driving in and waiting as well! Ok, so you parked legally, but gridlock isn't just created by parking illegally! Like you say, ivykaty, it's always other people that are the issue!

"And bears shit in the woods" is along the lines of "and the pope is Catholic" OP.

This is one of those issues that I am quite surprised that it took a study to point out. Had it never occurred to you before that where there is traffic, there is pollution?

Yeah, I get , don't see how it contributes to the thread. Don't see the point not taking the time to post that.
I think it was important to make a thread on this.

...no, not stupid! DO realise where there's ytraffic there's pollution, but no, had not realised that all those cars are sitting with their engines running. I guess I'm thinking of our situation where cars are left whilst DC are collected, but that's younger days,...after that, like loads of other DM s we parked and walked (a bit further) or parked and waited (for DC to get safety out of the traffic and parked cars with the lollipop person.

We had always got masses walking at our schools, and then buses into the school.

I had not noticed as a thing, but don't see he point in just coming to a thread and saying, well that's bloody obvious!....and nothing else....

Thanks Ivykaty is there a particular go to for you?

Pressambly the vast majority of people dropping off and picking up at school out times don’t work (and if they do please let me know what you do) and use after school clubs. So most of the people driving could walk. Most schools round us have significant no parking areas round them round school opening:closing time so if people still drive at these times the cars are quite dispersed (the only exception is the special needs schools).

Go to what? Shrek

I'm not surprised, parents should walk with their little darlings.

Don’t fans work without the engine running anyway? Mine do.

Has anyone died as a result

I'm firmly of the belief that pollution is a major contributor to dementia, too.

I'm not at all shocked. Sadly, I have to drive and see some truly shocking examples of selfish driving and parking. I think we, as a country, need to make some radical changes in how children travel to school. I wonder if a more comprehensive school bus system like they have in other countries would be safer and more environmentally friendly?

I can't comment on schools in towns and cities, but our local school serves around 9 villages and umpteen farms and hamlets. There is one school minibus and no local public transport. Most of the parents I see on the playground work flexi-time or part-time in order to be around for school drop off and pick up. There is no car park, so all the cars park outside people's houses.

There were originally small schools in most of the tiny villages served by the school, so years ago most of the children could have safely walked or cycled to school.

The problem could be fairly easily solved with more minibuses. As it is you have to live 2+ miles outside the village to qualify for a place on the bus if your child is between 5 and 8, 3+ miles if they are over. I had exactly 1 year in which both my children qualified for the bus, and never managed to get to the top of the waiting list.

So easy to believe, I live 10 mins away from school so I walk but the number of people who sit outside school an hour before pick up just to get super close to the gates and have their engines running is ridiculous! Do these people have nothing better to do than sit in their cars for ages!? Don't know why it still shocks me tbh

You posted about stats...is there anywhere particular that you recommend for searching good stats?

Some of us have other reasons for sitting outside of school for an hour like a twat

I don’t keep my engine running though.

Yes, police resources are overstretched already, so its not feasible that police would be ticketing this contraventions, but the ever keen blue bottles could be! Its only a simple extension of their parking powers.

A ticket appearing on the screen is pretty good deterrent, plus I agree with other posters saying that the parking is dire, with drives blocked, double parking, parking on double yellows (perhaps the reason for sitting in the car running the engine). Often the parking is dangerous, prevent in access by emergency vehicles, can you imagine the chaos as young children leaving school and emergency services needing to gain access

Thank you ivykaty44

Some of us have other reasons for sitting outside of school for an hour like a twat like why? Some would finds that unnerving if you are not collecting a child, or related to the school, when you presumably use a car park?

Just caught a bit of Nigel Farrage speaking to someone on LBC about the climate change demos in London and they both agreed that the demonstrators were selfish.

Now, disruptive, yes, but selfish? How can someone protesting against the governments lack of action about it selfish?

Switched off the radio in protest about the twattish radio presenters.

World heath organisation is a good source of figures and facts