4 x 4 driver, dropping off privately educated boy outside my house, on the pavement, forcing my son out of the way!

[SlartyBartFast]

garrrr

he came out of the house, pissing down raining cats and dogs, to cross the road to catch the bus, this woman in a huge black 4 by 4 drove him off the pavement to drop off her precious
i was fuming.
despite being in my dressing gown i really wanted to go out and bang on her window

i think the op has teh right to take umbrage at teh driver. the woman could have seriously injured her child. cut her a little slack re. mentioning the 4x4 thing.

i stand by my sweeping generalisation.

as a stereotype goat is right and has been prooved so ime

I have to say that driving a 4x4 is just rude anyway - unless you live on a farm.

Agree with whoever said that mahoosive 4x4 v intimidating vehicles and so when one suddenly bears down on you/forces you out of the way etc etc it is somehow much more scary.

Plus they usually have blacked out windows which I'm sure in any car can make people behave worse when behind the wheel for the simple reason that people can't see them/glare at them/give them a look etc, it makes them feel untouchable.

I am sure there is something psychological that happens to a lot of people when they get behind the wheel of a vehicle which is very large, very high up from the ground and has tinted windows.

tbh even if you live on a farm there isn't a huge need to be driving your children round in one.

CloudDragon where has it been proven I would like to see that.

A woman used to park her 4x4 right outside my house and put the warning lights on to take her kid into school. We could barely get out of our gate

I agree that the OP has a right to be cross with the driver, Of course there are rude/dangerous drivers out in every walk of life. The fact that she drove a 4x4 or sends her child to private school is irrelevant.
I'd be interested to know the depth of the experience that you have based your statement on goat.
But perhaps thats getting off topic.
OP hope your son is ok!

She only lives two roads away in the city and it has bull bars on the front of it

YANBU re: her bad driving and yes, a mahoosive 4x4 is far more intimidating than a smaller vehicle.

YABU about choice of school though, matters not a jot. DS1's state primary school carpark is testament to the fact that there are rude and inconsiderate drivers everywhere (be they driving old bangers or a house on wheels).

Yes, a Ford Fiesta has as much potential to crash into you with unfortunate effects.

But if a 4x4 hits you you are likely to have much more severe injuries, especially if you are a child. The bonnet is higher and they are far heavier. Normal cars - you get thrown onto the bonnet and thrown off. 4x4s - bonnet hits a child's head and crushes them under the wheels.

Caveat - a very few 4x4s do have reasonable Euro NCAP ratings for pedestrian safety thanks to designers who have finally woken up to their murderous tendencies. Sadly most on the roads do not and there are plenty of older models on the roads.

As for private v. state, may I just share my aggravation at the private school precious Mummy I saw parking in a disabled spot this morning without displaying a blue badge? No-one at ds's state school has ever done that (directly outside the school, at least).

And tbh the private school Mummies we have to pass every morning are more likely to drive 4x4s and mount the pavement to do 3-point turns because they are far too busy and important to drive to the end of the road and bloody turn.

There are state school mums who are less than perfect, but walking past two schools every morning, the private school parents round here are worse.

I'm with Metatron, DCs 1 and 2 went to a private school and I drove a 4 x 4 but it doesn't mean that I'm a dangerous/inconsiderate driver.
In fact, I have undertaken intensive advanced driver training courses.

Agree the woman in question was unreasonable/driving/parking dangerously but why do you imply that it is only parents with 4 x 4s who are fortunate enough to be able to educate privately that drive like that?

Oh, and 4x4s being higher up = less able to see small children out of the back window while doing an 18 point turn and reversing onto the pavement.

Thing is, of course everyone should drive safely with due consideration for pedestrians. But given most models of 4x4s are more dangerous for pedestrians, especially children, there is an extra responsibility on people who choose to drive them to be even more careful.

Ah yes edam, but cars driven by people on council estates are far more likely to fall apart and kill people. Plus poor people are unlikely to have insurance and be drink driving! {insert further sweeping generalisation emoticon]
btw my 4x4 had lovely sensors which went off like a screaming banshee everytime a pleeb came near it!

ffs

When I was back in the UK during the summer I walked down to our local shops with my two young children. When we got near the school it was almost home time and it was practically impossible to cross the road safely as there were cars parked all over the pavement on both sides of the road, parked over hatchings which clearly illustrate 'no waiting' and also parked around the side of a roundabout. It was very dangerous and apparently this happens every day.
Oh, and its a state school

there is a bus that picks up the children going to private school, 100 yards down the road from my house, i have a double yellow line outside my house and am therefore always annoyed at the mothers who drop their dc's there .
but today this took the absolute biscuit

and also annoyed at those who sit with their engines running, waiting for the bus, outside my hosue

Mothers with privately educated children are more likely to run over your child/drive badly than a mother with a state educated child
Really
Christ , you lot really hate private schools

I agree with Goat as when i used to cycle to work it was always the 4x4 mums who drove with a sense of entitlement and carelessly, infringing the rights of others on the road and putting them in danger whilst they made calls on their mobiles not looking where they were going and driving all over the place.

It is intersting though - why do people who have money feel the need to drive a massive bus sized vehicle around a city ?

Well if you live on a farm and you only have a 4x4 you would have to use it to transport DC around to swimming lessons etc. and to do shopping. I have no problems with type of car but I live in a village so don't think of them as 'Chelsea tractors'. Bad driving/driving on the pavement is wrong in any car. The child's school doesn't matter either.

I think if I were you I'd be dressed and ready to pounce in future. Get some photos and report her.

we need to get back to the good old days of private education where they simply packed the children off once a term on a train with an enormous trunk full of tuck [too much enid blyton emoticon]

I agree with Goat those were the days

What is it with Mumsnetters that riles some of you so much if people choose to have a 4x4 and privately educate their child? Are you all socialists? By the way, I drive a Renault Scenic which is 6 years old and my daughter goes to a state school so I am not getting on my high horse.