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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

argh is this as bad as I think it might be? argh argh argh

94 replies

vacua · 19/11/2007 19:39

have done a Bad Thing

this annoying woman always blocks 3 - 5 cars in by being late and parking across the exit, you can either back onto the main road at an angle which makes it impossible to see any oncoming traffic, or you can wait patiently

or you can do this Bad Thing which is to repeatedly bump into the back of her car, totally pointlessly because she is not in it, with your hand on the horn for continuous sound effects to harmonise with revving of engine, before getting out of own car and finding her and, um, screaming in her face

then when her horrible orange car has finally moved out of the way, complete own humiliation by doing a childishly loud wheelspin and whole thing witnessed by just about everyone

I have done this Bad Thing

but how bad is it? can I ever go out again?

OP posts:
bookofthedeadmum · 19/11/2007 21:27

I drove my dd once as it was raining - we had to park so far away in the other direction that I may as well have walked her in the first place from my house. I've only driven her since when I've combined it with dropping off donations to the school fair (most famously, 2 bags of videos and a chicken rotisserie). I wasn't going to carry that in my arms over a busy road .

Elasticwoman · 19/11/2007 21:30

I remember my aunt telling me that rain in California was a reason for some parents to keep their dc away from school altogether! So unused they were to wet weather.

As Billy Connolly said, there's no such thing as bad weather, only inappropriate clothing.

bookofthedeadmum · 19/11/2007 21:33

Well our schools close for snow nowadays. Never had that in my day! [sounding old icon].

Hekate · 19/11/2007 21:35

Well, we lived close to the school and then we had to move (private rented and tenancy up) and the council rehoused us 9 bloody miles away!! - either that or homeless - and we didn't want to uproot the kids as they have autism and a statement and support and HATE change - and we had only moved to the original house the year before and the landlords PROMISED us it was a long term let HAHAHA and the upheaval for the boys so so bad and we couldn't change their home AND their school again.

So we drive.

Elasticwoman · 19/11/2007 21:47

Hekate you have cast iron excuse, in fact authorities should pay for a taxi, shouldn't they? Am not being facetious, as there is a school for autistic children in our area and every child is sent to school by taxi.

But I do know other people who move house within the same locality and do not move their dc from the original school even though there are no special needs in the case. Consequently they are driven there and back every day and do not make friends with children in the new neighbourhood, which is a shame.

bozza · 19/11/2007 21:56

I totally agree elasticwoman. And every parent who drives and gets involved in the parking frenzy makes it less safe for the children who walk to school. For some bizarre reason I got my timing wrong this morning and we were quite early for school. One woman and her children were sat in the car in prime parking position outside school. And I heard her say that she had to set off early to get a good space. The time she set off she could have walked and not been late for school.

Original poster
vacua · 19/11/2007 21:56

I live in a rural area and our school is a few miles away, it would be silly to walk even supposing I could afford to lose the money from taking a couple of hours off 5 days a week and I certainly can't walk to the hospital twice a day even if it is a mere 42 miles each way and there is soooo much free time between 3:15 and when I have to be there at 4pm.

Cannot believe am even entering into this ridiculous discussion about how one lives and works in such a sparsely populated area without a car! Am a single parent, have to work, have to use before and after school clubs at varying times hence no bus, have to travel from one place to another across the county throughout the day - anyway what the fuck, thankfully there are only about 18 people living in the whole of East Anglia so I won't worry about pollution just yet.

PILLOCK would love to come out for a drink as soon as possible, I will even get my wellies surgically removed for the occasion.

OP posts:
UniversallyChallenged · 19/11/2007 21:59

how did she respond to you vacua

Original poster
vacua · 19/11/2007 22:02

oh god

she said 'I'm sorry I'm sorry I didn't know'

am imagining all sorts of nightmare scenarios in which she is too depressed to park normally and has committed suicide or something

OP posts:
lennygirl · 19/11/2007 22:03

Message withdrawn

Skribble · 19/11/2007 22:04

Vacua I think you made an arse of yourself,
continually bumping a car with someone in it,
continually sounding horn in what would appear to be an agressive intimidating manner,
screaming in someones face,
wheelspinning like a 17yr old boy racer.

All of this in front of children .

You really have to ask?

Elasticwoman · 19/11/2007 22:06

Vacua I was not criticising you personally for driving to school but just saying that generally there is more driving to school than necessary. In general. Not you. Especially not you. Or Hekate.

UniversallyChallenged · 19/11/2007 22:09

well havent we all done stupid things in the heat of the moment? i certainly have. come on everyone confession time to make vacua feel a little better

Desiderata · 19/11/2007 22:11

Was that called for, Skribble?

Most of us, had we behave in that manner, wouldn't have started a thread about it. Vacua is trying to come to terms with what she did today. She's not braying about it. She's ashamed about it.

For what it's worth, people in my village persistently park on the pavement. I can't get through with my pushchair. A disabled person wouldn't be able to get through at all.

I'm so cheesed off with it that I am seriously thinking about taking a key to their paintwork. That's what persistent, selfish behaviour does to you.

LuckySalem · 19/11/2007 22:16

I once yelled at someone for taking my space in the carpark. Well.... I had been waiting for the silly old beggar already in the space to get his seatbelt on, check his mirrors, reverse (at .0000000001 MPH) out of his space. Only to then have some posh business man coming the other way drive straight into my space (there were none others left) I got out and screamed at him and then drove away like a mad woman (safely though) Felt a bit silly later and also really scared (he was huge) but I think I scared him more, tiny little midget woman shouting at him. lol

Carbonel · 19/11/2007 22:17

I feel sorry for the elderly lady who may well have been worried but not the parent, if my child was ill in hospital I would move heaven and earth to get there.

We ahd a similar situation where a friend who was visiting had parked carelessly and a neighbour had to come and ask him to move as he needed to take his son to hospital urgently - we all felt dreadful and DF moved car immediatley and i made sure I popped round as soon as i saw the car back to see how things were.

I am sure the driver is feeling bad about it and will understand the situation - she needs seriouls telling off about appaling parking, can you not arrange for the police to turn up ne day - they did at my dd's previous school where people used to park ridiculously unsafely. or maybe you can get hold of a traffic cone to put in space behnd you so there is room to get out.

So IMHO yes, it was bad, but she most definitly deserved it .....

Hope your dd is doing better now

LuckySalem · 19/11/2007 22:18

Desi - I get annoyed with DP as when he comes home, he always parks with the nose over the pavement so if you're pushing a buggy you wouldn't have a hope (next door do this so I know it happens) but he doesn't seem to get it. If someone kept constantly getting in my way i'd have bumped into it with my buggy by now. (the thing is it's my car and I don't want the dent)

UniversallyChallenged · 19/11/2007 22:23

i overtook a car once and the guy beeped me all the way to the end of road - about a mile. i was so fed up that when we stopped at a junction and he was still beeping me so i got out and stormed up to him asking what his problem was , telling him to get out and face me! I even lunged for his keys - he quickly shut the window.

My dcs were in the car I felt pretty bad after, but it was a good show for the others in the traffic queue

bookofthedeadmum · 19/11/2007 22:25

I always feel sorry for people who live near schools as they must get trapped in their houses between 8.30-9.30am and 3-4pm or have to move their cars first if they want to get anywhere. I know they chose to live there but perhaps they've been there a long time and don't want to move? I'd hate to live within a few seconds walk of school - I'd always be wishing for the holidays to come .

Desiderata · 19/11/2007 22:26

Salem, refuse all sex until he mends his ways, the evil fecker

God, it is annoying though.

Skribble · 19/11/2007 22:27

In the OP the question was How bad is it?

Yes we get angry and frustrated but resorting to illegal, intimidating and violent actions is not really justified. There are other ways to make a point rather than waiting until you have lost control.

I thought the mood and gist of the OP conveyed that she thought she was wrong too, it is all the following posts patting her on the back saying quite right that are more shocking.

I agree she did what many of us are tempted to do, but not so much that the rest of use chicken out but that we see sense in time to stop ourself.

LuckySalem · 19/11/2007 22:28

I'll try that one, although at the moment, sex isn't what he wants (33 wks pg, not so sexy and "it's like a threesome" apparently) so might not work, I'll refuse to clean his clothes! lol

foosh · 19/11/2007 22:29

why aren't there school-busses in this country? or are there and i've just never seen them?

Doodledootoo · 19/11/2007 22:29

Message withdrawn

mistlethrush · 19/11/2007 22:30

Don't you sometimes wish that you could get a special 'Bodicea Chariot' attachment for buggies - so that when you were passing cars parked on or over the pavement you could press a button, drop the rotating blades and proceed, making swirly patterns in the paintwork....!!!