Have zero sympathy for parents for parents being fined for breaking parking rules outside schools

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https://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/news/local-news/parents-slam-school-parking-madness-10674874?utm_source=mynewsassistant.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=embedded_search_item_desktop

Parents are moaning about CoL with fines parking on double yellow, zig zags etc.

One stupid quote from a parent
"I don’t understand why the fines are being handed out anyway. For those who park up more than 30 minutes at a time, fair enough they should be fined but for those who park for 10 minutes there needs to be more understanding."
"Times are hard as it is anyway and adding that extra expense of the ticket, on top of living costs rising is just unnecessary. Its putting more pressure on parents. The money I spent on that fine could be spent on putting a smile on my child’s face."

Well if you read the Highway Code, leave a few minutes earlier and get your DC to walk either from home or park down a side street (not on parking restricted lines/bays) about 5 min walk from the school, you won't risk getting a fine.

No sympathy from me.

I believe the removing the boundaries for parents to apply for their DC to attend schools outside catchment areas isn't doing this any favours. In the old days when I was at school, if you wanted your DC to attend a certain school, you moved home.

Also what are the chances are these parents are driving newish (less than 3 years old) cars that cost them £50k?

Our village has a massive car park (it's attached to the community centre), a 5 minute walk away from the main entrance to the school yet it is completely empty in the morning, whilst the road right next to the school entrance is completely jammed with cars double parked, parked on bends and even across the zebra crossing. I honestly think that even if spaces were available nearby, some parents would still risk their child's life to save an extra few minute. The school run really brings out the worst in some people.

I’m in the US - many of our schools have no walkable access so most schools have a ‘kiss and drop off’ system where you drive in a queued system round the car park and stop at the front where your kid gets out of the car without the parents getting out and then you just drive off.

For primary age they have a member of staff at the drop off point to help the little ones out of their seat etc.

Parking near schools is not safe for many, hence the implementation of 'school streets' which dont allow any cars, gender does not come into it

Sounds awful

But it’s not feasible for many schools because there’s no spare land.

Our school has been on its site for 160 years with frontage to one road. There’s limited parking on the road outside and double yellows for safety. A local business allows parents to use their fairly large car park but few use it as it means a 5 minute walk each way.

Short of opening the playground and turning it over to parking twice a day, where exactly can they magic up spare land from for 50 odd cars at a time?

It varies by school but actually works very well for drop off, pick up can be more annoying as some parents get there very early to be at the front of the queue and takes a while for pick up.

But as a drop off it’s a smooth easy process - no need to find a place to park, get both of you out of the car etc. Great in bad weather.

But the schools also have huge car parks on site as well so if you needed to go into the school for some reason it’s very easy to park in the school grounds.

Space in the UK for older schools isn’t going to allow for big onsite car parks but the kiss and drop off system could work.

I do think a lot of parents are worried about getting wet because there are always a lot more cars when it rains.

This is one of the most batshit takes I've ever read on this site, and that is saying something.

The police are to be applauded here I live next door to a secondary school in a small cul de sac. We regularly have people blocking our drives, parking on the zig zags, parking on the double yellow lines, blocking the school access gates (which means the 5 school buses and the access for parents/taxis with disabled children is blocked). We have even had parents blocking the entrance to our cul de sac which means nothing can get in or out. I've even had parents say "It's only for 5 minutes"...well 5 minutes could make a hell of a difference if the school was burning down with their little darlings inside and the emergency services couldn't get through.

Why can't kids walk to school like they used to and still do in many other countries? Or cycle? Why do they HAVE to be driven?

I live near a primary school, in a cul-de-sac off the road where the school is - if that makes sense. Our only way in and out of our street is to pass the school.
I cannot tell you how many times parents/carers have parked right across the end of our street, so we cannot get in or out, and been there for 10-15 mins. I missed a hospital appointment once because of it. The entitlement is incredible.
Also, they just stop right in the middle of the road, and disgorge children, without any checking for if it's safe, cars or coming, etc - and of course, it would be the drivers fault if their little darlings were hurt.
We've had to get our street changed to residents parking only, because of it all.

I'm in a 150 year old house, and the school is less than 20 years old, before anyone says, 'well, they were here first'; and I bought my place before the school was even in planning stages.

It's almost in the centre of a medium sized town. There are excellent public transport links, and an enormous free car park at the local park, less than 3-5 mins walk away, with a safe crossing point too.... So, I'd be fining the shit out of them all. (Accessibility reasons excepted, obviously)

Don't want to be rude about usa, but really glad driving kids to school has not been my experience

I have no sympathy for someone who parks on double yellow lines or on zig-zags.

What I think should change is there should not be fines, but points on your driving licence. I would also end any hardship defence for motoring crimes, which is what they are.

A few parents being banned from driving and I bet the situation would change.

All that has no bearing on obeying the rules of the road. Don't park where you shouldn't. Yes, it is sometimes inconvenient when there are no spaces outside the school but I'd rather spend 5 minutes getting a toddler in a pram than witness a child knocked down on a zebra crossing because they ran out from an illegally parked vehicle.

There’s just zero sensible parking outside of any school I have experience with, which is now four. One school was off a main road with no parking close by whatsoever. Another was wedged between two streets, both of which threatened to fine parents if they parked there due to it being private property. Nowhere else to park nearby at all.

It’s just a nightmare. Walking/cycling is a brilliant option for those who WFH or don’t work, if you need to drop them on the way to work then it just isn’t an option.

This has got to be one of the most ludicrous attempts at justifying dangerous and illegal parking I’ve ever seen. Personally I have seen plenty of men doing school runs as well but regardless it’s not a feminist issue. Ther is NO defence for endangering children at all.

I live not far from a primary and secondary school in the NW - that’s around 2,000 pupils between the two. From what I can see (and I don’t have kids so don’t have a school run) it’s mainly the women who walk, and the men who drive - usually Range Rovers, Audi, BMWs or Mercedes - taking a break from working at home.

I would have preferred to have had the experience I had growing up in the UK where I could walk to both my primary and secondary school. Unfortunately the catchment area for DD here is huge.

Middle school was a 25 minute drive and high school was 35 minute drive away.

The one amazing thing that the US does though is the school bus system - it’s the only free social benefit I think they do better than Europe.

DD’s school bus stopped at the end of our driveway. So unless I needed to drive her to a club she could just walk out of the house and walk to the end of the driveway and get picked up.

Well, some families do have to drive. We live 13 miles from our school, we can’t walk or cycle that. Nor is there any public transport from where I live. We lift share, use the school bus and always park legally but we do have to drive.

Some parents also have to get multiple small children to multiple drop offs, and the majority have to get onto work.

The halcyon days of mothers not working, living in lovely village with charming local school in walking distance are long gone.

Of course everyone should park properly, I’m not defending bad parking which I also hate, but for many driving is essential, unfortunately.

A few years ago, I got stuck in a traffic jam outside a school for over an hour due to inconsiderate parking; I was passing through. Not helped by 2 coaches parked in the layby outside one school. 2 fights broke out, SUVs were driving over gardens. The police were called, and even they had difficulty persuading the entitled parents to move their cars.

So many parents seem to think that they are entitled to park outside a school, regardless of the inconvenience to other parents or other road users. They always claim to 'be only 5 minutes' but they never are.

When I was a child, I made my own way home either walking, cycling or by bus. From the age of nine! Are children these days so feeble they need a lift from right outside the school?

IME, the men are the worst and most entitled parkers at our school!!

They seem to think the fact that they gave to get to work is far more important than all the mums that have to get to work but have developed strategies to factor it into their morning routine. The men don't seem to think they need to plan ahead.

Undoubtedly some have to drive, I have a disabled child so as much as I would love to make him walk it’s not an option, but many could walk and don’t.

ds school the furthest admission is 0.8 miles so most could walk. They have a good bus system. But parking is still horrendous

It's still inconvenient whether it's "only 5 minutes" or not. Even 1 minute is too long.

1 minute is the difference between me missing my bus and being an hour or more late to work.

This has happened to me before when parents have parked on the pavement, blocking my walking route to the bus stop.

It's NEVER OK to park illegally.

That would depend on where you work, plenty of people cycle to work after school run

There are many schools near my house and while I was expecting it to be busy, I was shocked at the batshittery that goes on between 8 - 9am and 3pm - 4ish. Pulling out without looking, not observing right of way, stopping with no warning, almost running over kids (and lollipop lady) on crossings.

I had no idea it would be this bad - I just dont go out during those times now.