To think driveway blockers are unreasonably disrespectful… (school parking rant)

[KcEliMa]

Firstly, I actually apologise in advance. I’m not necessarily on the correct thread, but this seemed the only choice for my topic.

I’m suspecting there will be some on the other side of my opinion who disagree/ argue against what I say (I am anticipating backlash - so I do beg for peeps to be kind please)

So! I’m one of those crazy, foolish people who live near a school who doesn’t have children attending said school.
Now, before people come at me for that (see, I already feel the need to defend and explain myself) when we moved here a few years ago, the school was minuscule. 20 pupils, if that, and hardly an issue at all. But then, a couple of years ago, the trust closed another local school and mixed the two together here, so we have a massive majority of children coming in from surrounding areas. The school have then expanded twice since with a crèche-type thing and a preschool.
I would guesstimate that at least 90% of the children are from further areas and that the school have easily quadrupled their intake. Plus, it’s very rural and there are zero public transport options.
For further context though, there is off-street parking available. A very large car park is available. It would literally take parents and children an extra 10, maybe 15 seconds to walk from said car park to the school gates.

Right, to my actual issue.
Parking!
Why do school parents believe it is their sacred right to park however and wherever they like?! I won’t get into how dangerous the road is being made by the absurd quality and levels of parking etc, but to my personal gripe - inconsiderate and disrespectful parking over driveways.

It’s a constant issue that no one wants to take responsibility for or deal with. There’s only around 12 houses outside the school but we’re all subservient to the parents who decide it’s perfectly reasonable to deny people access in and out of their properties.
What I’m completely and utterly baffled by further is, when you calmly and diplomatically try to reason/ ‘challenge’ these people (for want of a better word), they don’t own up to their inconsideration and move on, they want to stand and argue and get nasty.
I’ve given up to a degree, because it actually puts my family and home at risk just to ask people to move on.

BUT today I had one encounter that was completely baffling. I got called discriminatory names, told to STFU - and I didn’t even say a word. Yes, I walked to the end of my drive, I then stood inside my drive behind closed gates and just wanted to ask the person to move on - but the abuse I got! 😮 my husband is now annoyed with me because he thinks, with the calibre of person it was, they’ll want to play games now and repeatedly park outside and that we are at a level of vulnerability, with the people obviously knowing where we live but us not knowing them.

I guess I’m not really asking AIBU, I suppose my query is more Why Are These People So Unreasonable?!
And, is there anyone else out there in any kind of similar situation? I need people who understand the strain it puts on us who suffer! Please!

This, just park over your own drive, problem solved!

This.

It’s not an AIBU or need to explain yourself. It’s illegal end of.

They know where you live.

Anything stopping you photographing and videoing?

School drop off drivers are NUTS. I am a new driver and still a bit nervous around parking manoeuvres especially when there's a lot of cars around. And the amount of honking and pressure I get daily gives me sooooo much stress.

I park a considerable walk away from the school now just so I don't have to deal with it.

So I am not at all surprised that people park over your driveway.

I've seen cars double parked in front of the school?? As in one car parallel parked by the kerb and another parked adjacent to it!! Lunacy

A local school has a turning circle. No one uses it as a turning circle, they just park all round it.

Schools can request courtesy and consideration from families of pupils, but they have no jurisdiction over where people park outside school grounds. Sometimes, senior teachers will go out morning or afternoon and that can ‘encourage’ drivers to be more considerate, while it lasts.

I’ve been entertained recently by the pictures on the local Parking like a Tw4t facebook group. The number plates of the badly parked cars are visible.
Worth a try, OP?

We had a neighbour like that once. Not a school, but similar - lots of people parking to be close to where they needed to be. She would stand on the street quizzing folks about why they were parking, berating them and telling them that residents were pissed off with them (we weren't, really, it was mildly annoying but understandable). Most people ignored her but sometimes it would degenerate into a row. She caused problems rather than solving them and made herself really unhappy.

I agree you don't want to become like that OP.

Agreed. I filmed a woman once losing it for a similar reason who came at me hard. I sent the video to the school who did firstly did nothing. I then told them not to worry I would take it up with the police and council. Surprise that got their attention! Parent,was banned for their behaviour and never parked there again. School sent multiple notes out, put out bollards and the head started coming out in the morning. It may help to do something similar. Good luck.

The parish council have no jurisdiction on highways etc, go to the proper council and log your issues

YANBU and you didn't have to go to such lengths to defend your thoughts. Only CFs block drives, whether they are parents of the local school children or not.

The only people who get a pass are emergency services in emergency situations, or obviously a driver who needs medical attention.

Edited 22 times because of predictive text

You are not unreasonable OP. I am able to walk from home and occasionally I drive if I need to get on the motorway for work quickly. I set off early and park in a space on the side of the road safely.
We have parents that pull up to the zig zags and casually hang round, massively obstructing the view of children and parents trying to cross. Some who block drives and some who block the entrance to a care home that has frequent ambulances.
The police patrol fairly regularly and ticket. Teachers stand out in high viz jackets where they can. Some people literally don't care.
We have parents who have other children with needs that they can't leave them in the car and they have special arrangements with the staff to use their car park.
It's beyond me why people do this.

I lived next door to a school and worked 10 mins drive away. My hours were 9am - 3pm. It meant I could drop mine in the yard as soon as it opened, rush home and get to work just on time, then I'd leave work on time and have just enough time to get home and rush round into the yard. Perfect!

I used to get frustrated at people blocking me in on a morning. I kept getting into trouble for being late for work. I'd have been and dropped mine and be back home ready to leave, but couldn't as my drive was blocked.

Then on an afternoon if I arrived home and if my drive was blocked, I'd have to drive further away and find somewhere to park. That made me late picking my children up, then we'd have to wait until the school traffic cleared and walk back to collect the car.

Most of them said "oh I was only 10-15 minutes." They just didn't get the concept that those 10-15 minutes really inconvenienced me.

It is the parents that oark across your dropped kerb and then decide to drive down the pavement …. I have filmed this and sent to the local school as the parent narrowly missed a young child. Only then were the school interested.

had the child been knocked over evidence was there for the police.

my pet hate is parents parking in the corner of a road, blocking the view to exit the road and the pedestrian dropped kerb so that pushchairs and wheelchairs cannot use it to cross the road.

selfish. Utterly selfish. Oh and lazy.

just sums up the attitude of some people which can never be changed as they are entitled.

We live at the end of a cul de sac very close to a school. Yes the school was there when we bought the house but there were 250 kids - my eldest started that year. Now there are 400+ and traffic is dreadful.

Parents are rude, entitled and selfish. They give zero fucks about residents, the only thing that matters is getting as close to the school gate as humanly possible, god forbid their child has to walk 5 minutes from the car park.

When my kids were at the school in question, the school did exactly that. Polite reminders, have consideration, Highway Code, use the car parks etc etc. Got better for a day or two and the first wet day it's back to normal.

I completely accept that schools have no power in policing parking.

If the school and council won’t assist with parking issues, go and talk to your neighbours. See if they are bothered by having their driveways blocked.

If most of the people in the area feel the same plan to have everyone park in the street for a while. Make school drop off much harder for the parents. Then maybe you can come to an understanding about having driveways blocked.

It’s not just schools.

I used to live near a convenience store and the number of people I had parking in clearly signed and bollarded allocated parking spaces was ridiculous (they used to park in between my bollard and my neighbour’s). Whenever people challenged them the answer was always “we’ll just be 5 minutes” / “where else am I meant to park?”

Some people are just antisocial dickheads who don’t give a shit who they inconvenience as long as they get what they want.

I live in the next road to the school so can thankfully walk my DS, and the parking is an eye opener. It's usually the same cars I notice parking like absolute tools as well. Some people just don't give two shits. The school has sent out many notices about the parking and even had safety officers and PCSOs out. Parents behave for about a day or two and then it goes back to a free for all. My neighbour that lives about 6 houses down from me actually DRIVES her DC to school regularly. She has a 4x4 as well, honestly I quite often get to school and back before she has even managed to turn her car around. Madness.

Best advice I can give you is just to be so fucking weird that they avoid your space like the plague. Wait with sweets and offer them to the kids before and after school. Try engaging them in conversation, from the moment they get out of the car, coo over the baby if they have one in tow. Think of your most annoying work colleague and do that.

I agree with you. The entitlement from some parents is astounding and here it's got worse over the last few years. When ds1 was in YR I never saw any dodgy parking and now he's in Y5 I see it a lot. People parking across driveways, ON driveways, on corners, on pavements... the list goes on. And yes so many people have to park as close as possible and won't entertain the idea of parking further away even if it only takes them a minute extra.

I’ve also been in this position and it’s infuriating when you’re made late for work/appointments etc due to other peoples laziness and/or entitlement.
A friend of my DH used to have people doing this on a regular basis and he would let the air out of their tyres on more than one occasion and a few times (for repeat offenders) he actually bought himself a clamp and clamped their wheel. (Although they were parked on private land rather than a highway but still tempting!)

And no budget to build it.

I walk my child to school but occasionally we get an email asking parents not to block driveways, so I'm guessing the neighbours periodically complain to the school and then we get these email reminders as a result.

I suppose the only other thing you could do is park on the road and block your own driveway so no one else can.

Yes we do this with our driveway. They come very quickly!

I completely agree with you! I don't live near my kids school but the tests that park right at the gate on doubke yellow zig zag lines every day, stop in the middle of the road to let there kids out themselves. I want to murder them! lol your husband needs to grow a pair too