To think that the school are powerless to solve this? Parking related

[LeevMarie]

Hi everyone - just wondering if this is the same everywhere in the country, or if your DC's school have managed to solve this problem.

DS (almost 5) was nearly run over this morning outside school. The school is at the bottom of a narrow lane with no car parking. We were crossing the road direct outside the entrance and he was on his scooter. I try and instill the importance of road safety, so I make him stand on the pavement, looking around for cars until I though it was safe to cross. We stepped out behind a car parked on double yellow lines on the pavement (the whole pavement is back to back with cars, so no alternative) and out of nowhere came a huge vehicle which resulted in a near miss. I shouted at the driver of the car (not ideal, but I got a shock).

When I was leaving the school, there was a stream of cars and I found it difficult as an adult to navigate my way across the road - kids have no chance.

The school are really trying to resolve the issue. They often send out emails/letters, have a sign on the gate saying that cars should not be driving down to the entrance and even have had a traffic warden on occasions to give out fines. Yet, still, inconsiderate people still keep driving down there.

I don't think there's anything more the school can do about it and fear that things will only change when there's an accident. I've emailed the Headteacher this morning to let her know that there was a near-accident, but also that I appreciate the steps they're taking to try and stop it.

Does everywhere have this problem? Are there any examples anyone has of their school successfully solved a similar issue? There is lots of parking available nearby - I can't help but think it's just lazy, entitled people who think that they have some kind of licence to do whatever they want.

Schools near me have the little bollards shaped liked children out every morning. The caretaker puts them out all the way up the road.

Round here people drive like lunatics and parents think nothing of parking on double yellows because their child can’t be expected to walk the 5 minutes to school.

Some people will ignore it whatever they do.

DDs school has a walking bus from the pub car park at the end of the road. Loads of space, you hand over your DC and they walk the three minutes with some staff who volunteer to do it.

Some idiots still insist on driving down the dead end, narrow street to park on double yellows, or block a drive, to run to the gate and hand their child to a different member of staff.

Can understand it when someone has to go in to speak to the teacher or something, but most are just dropping off to another TA or SLt member on the gate.

Your DC should not be using a scooter during the school commute as PP said they should be holding your hand. I am not suggesting the scooter contributed to the situation in this instance as I witnessed a young child no scooter or anything just with Dad and sibling - almost knocked down at a zebra crossing because the car in the opposite lane was not stopping - if their Dad had not been vigilant and grabbed them - and we are talking seconds - it would have had a tragic outcome. The driver was entirely at fault.

However good luck with resolving this issue but there is no reasoning with pick-up/drop off parents - they can be as entitled as they like because, you know, they have a child who needs taking to/ collecting from school so they can do whatever they want.

There is a limit to what the police even can do. We have a school street and have had two parents, both mums, fined for being abusive to the police officers enforcing it.

OP, by your own admission, you stepped out behind a car which was parked on double yellow lines.

Do you think drivers can see through cars?

You didn't give the driver any opportunity to see you, let alone avoid you. This one is on you entirely. Your reckless decision to cross the road from behind a parked car almost cost your son his life.

And the idea that you didn't have any choice is bollocks, of course you did. You could have made the choice to wait until one of the vehicles had moved so that you and your son could have crossed the road safely.

This one is entirely on you.

Be more careful in future. You almost killed your son.

I'm glad someone else said this, I was going to say a very similar thing. You have set a bad example by teaching your child it's OK to cross the road between parked cars. If there genuinely is no way of crossing the road (like walking a few hundred yards to a place without parked cars) it's your responsibility to check that there aren't any cars coming. Vehicles don't come "out of nowhere" - they come from round the corner, out of a junction and so on. Don't cross the road where you can't safely see. Maybe he was speeding but as a pedestrian you need to take into account that drivers might speed, be distracted or just be plain incompetent.

You’re right that schools can do nothing, other than send letters, emails, speak to parents etc, so it has to be something that will affect the pockets of the regular offenders.

It would be great to have someone patrolling every day, but the teaching staff can’t do that, the police can’t do that and would those people who feel they’re entitled to park where they want, take any notice of anyone else.

Trying to get involved in School Street, Walking Bus, or other schemes is a good plan. When there are more people being considerate, rather than inconsiderate, it might make a difference.

@onefinemess the OP said that there was no sight line because the cars were parked closely together and parked on double yellow lines anyway, so unless she can see round them, what else could she have done? I agree that a young child and a scooter in that environment is not a good idea though.

I visited many schools during my working life and I never saw any that had satisfactory parking arrangements. Not the fault of the school, but the fault of people who feel entitled to please themselves. Round here, they park and sit with engines running for half an hour. All kinds of wrong.

When I picked up my grandchildren from primary school, I parked in the village hall car park and walked the five minute walk to the school gate. Every day, there were arguments about parking, because the road was too narrow to allow two way traffic when cars were parked each side ( and mostly half on and half off the pavement). I’ve seen a fight between two women in the middle of the road, because both refused to back up.

What else could she have done?

I don't know, wait until the cars had moved?

I absolutely guarantee you, if (God forbid) her had been killed by that car which "came out of nowhere", the OP would have spent the rest of her life thinking .

"why did I cross the road, why didn't I just wait"

We live by a school that has a ‘school street’ for drop off and pick up, you can’t drive down that section of the street during that time. The school should be doing everything possible to promote active travel as well-so much better for kids wellbeing and learning

This one is entirely on you.

No, it’s on the selfish pricks parking there because they couldn’t possibly walk 500 yards themselves. The OP and her child on a scooter aren’t polluting the air all the other children breathe, causing congestion, physical hazards and inconvenience to others and not taking appropriate care of their large, heavy, motorised metal boxes.

"Wait for the cars to move". Are you serious? There is no pathway on the other side of the road, so no option but to cross where I did. The car was turning round at the bottom of the dead end.

I also need to drop DS at school, walk back up to my car, which I'd parked 10 minutes away, then get to work. I'd love to have the luxury of waiting until all of the assholes have vacated the area before I show up on a morning, but back in the real world, that isn't a reality.

Fair point about the scooter - I acknowledge that isn't safe under the circumstances, so will rethink that one.

Also love the idea of the walking bus. I've seen this on the TV before and thought it was a great idea. I'll see if there is any interest from other parents to maybe set something like this up.

I'm in two minds about school streets - my DC's school has one and there is one at the school we live next to. Both have just pushed the problem one road further along and made the traffic and pollution worse on the adjacent roads.

Some parents are lazy and entitled and will always make life difficult for others.

My DDs school created a walking bus and spoke to the local council who gave parent’s permission to park for free.

The walking bus would meet at the carpark and they’d all get high viz jackets and the leaders would have big lollipop signs.

It was nice because it was so much quicker dropping your child off there than it would have been walking them all the way to school yourself, so it had a lot of interest.

The only issue is that it was organised by the school but depended on volunteer parents which as most parents work or have other commitments is difficult to do.
My DC was in year 6 when it started so I don’t know if it’s still going.

Another option would be to have a school minibus but this would cost money.

There is a school near me, situated in among some terraced streets. These houses have no front gardens but a lot have rear gardens with garages accessed via single car width rear lanes. There were massive issues with parents parking down those lanes and blocking access for residents so the council installed lockable bollards and only gave keys to the residents.

I appreciate this may not work if its a main road but it seems to me there should be something to stop people driving down this road so could the council put up no entry signs (except for deliveries and residents).

Put a member of staff at the top of the lane?
Cones?
Stagger drop off tines?

Don't have your kid on a scooter

Happens in our village, the head and local pcso encouraged residents to photograph all illegally parked cars and forward to police. Stopped the parking idiots within a week and parents and children learned how to walk...

*happened

The school is powerless I agree. They probably don't have enough staff members to observe every offence, report 100% to the police, for example.

Closure of the road with bollards or a gate to create a safe area won't happen.

The law does not provide for random breath/drug testing and the limit is not the European one such that you could remove a few cars off the road as I think some morning drivers are still over the limit.

You will never have a place at a secondary or junior school conditional on the parents' behaviour when taking a child to and from primary school, which given that some will fake their faith or move house for a good school, would probably work.

This! Our school sounds very similar re set up & it's been such a relief since it was made a school street. There's still always one though! 🙄

OP, as many have said, do look into School Streets. I live opposite a primary school and the street was made into a ‘School
Street’ a few years ago. Before the School Street was introduced parents would stop on the double yellows around the school, engines running for ages. Kids had to cross between the gaps in parked cars. There were also speeding incidents and road rage showdowns between parents driving in opposite directions who couldn’t fit past each other (although will admit these were sometimes quite entertaining). Since the School Street was introduced the pollution has dropped and the street is so much safer. It’s not a perfect system, and does push part of the problem further away, but it definitely deters drivers who live close to the school from making a short trip. Also visitors can’t enter the street during drop off/pick up time but this is a minor inconvenience compared to the benefits.

One of the key skills you need as a driver is to ability to assess the situation around you and anticipate any dangers.

So if you are driving past a school at school drop off/pick up time and there are parked cars - whether those cars are parked legitimately or not you bloody well SLOW DOWN and be alert to the possibility that a child could step out.

So many drivers are fixated on having the right of way that they fail to look out for more vulnerable road users.

This is utter rubbish. OP clearly said the whole street is full of cars illegally parked so she had no choice but to cross between parked cars.

Presumably they will only move once children have been dropped off at school. There is absolutely no reason that the selfish drivers should mean OPs child is late every morning ‘waiting until they move’.

OP you need a school street, particularly if it is a dead end. Most councils also have a scheme where you can photograph people parking illegally and report.

These threads do always highlight the posters who need some repeat driving lessons.

Also scooter is a totally reasonable form of school transport. You can still hold child and scooter to cross the road safely.

We had a lot of issues with parking one year, school sent several letters and emails regarding it to no avail. The school went to the local police station and had a word about it, for a few weeks we had the local police down every morning giving warnings, making people move. We have a good bit of parking but late comers/new class parents were making it a nightmare and there were 2 near misses with kids. After a few weeks of the police being there, they eventually copped on. Would your school would be willing to try something like that.