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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To pass these peoples car number plates onto the police?

64 replies

AgentZigzag · 22/01/2010 13:11

I had DD2 three weeks ago, I don't drive, so I have to walk DD1 to school every day taking about an hour a day, and DD2 obviously comes with us in her pram.

I've been walking to and from school with the pram for two weeks now, and I'm getting mightily pissed off with the amount of car drivers who don't bother fkg indicating when I'm crossing or just about to cross a road, with DD2 right out in front of me ready to get run over first.

I was looking back to see if any cars were turning down a road yesterday, and saw none were indicating, but one bloke decided he was turning down the road when I'd already stepped out, so he just steered round us on the other side of the road, not fkg bothered we were there at all

I'm sure I'm more sensitive to this because DD2 is a newborn, and it makes me upset as well as angry when I think of all the ways I try to keep her safe when she's with me might be in vain because some wanker of a car driver can't be arsed to flick a fkg lever in their car might run her over and take her away from me.

Some drivers might say they don't indicate because there's nobody around, but I'm there with my pram aren't I??

Am I being unreasonable to take down the cars number plate/date/time/place of those who do it to me, say, over a week, and hand them in to the police? Or will I get laughed out of the station, or banged up for wasting their time?? Will it do any good anyway?

OP posts:
Iklboo · 22/01/2010 13:58

Er..I read it as she pushes the pram in front of when she crosses the road (as you do - you don't back into a road when you cross it). DD2 being in the pram is therefore out in front of her?

Original poster
AgentZigzag · 22/01/2010 13:58

Hormon, I push the pram, obviously in front of me, and DD1 (9) walks alongside me, what I meant was that DD2 is in front of us and therefore out in the road first, there's no other way of doing it unless I drag the pram behind me which would be absurd

OP posts:
Jamieandhismagictorch · 22/01/2010 14:01

That's it !! Someone should invent a pram you pull behind you, in the manner of a horse pulling a cart ! (down-side : no face-to-face interaction)

Hassled · 22/01/2010 14:01

This is one of my many many pedestrian bugbears (just thinking about cylists on pavements makes my blood start to boil) - to the extent that DS3 started shouting at a car "No, don't bother indicating, we don't need to know do we?" in a spooky imitation of me the other day. It just doesn't occur to them that a sense of which way they are turning might be useful information to a pedestrian. We all need to improve our psychic powers, clearly.

LazyJourno · 22/01/2010 14:03

Do it. My dad get phoned up by the police after he accidentally cut someone up on the motorway.

He explained that he hadn't meant to, the reasons why it had happened and the police left it at that.

The policeman did say that he would have taken it further if my dad hadn't been so reasonable.

I think some drivers think indicating and slowing for corners only apply if there are other cars on the road

hormonalmum · 22/01/2010 14:03

Ah right, I thought you meant something else. Sorry!
I am not sure what anyone would do, maybe you could have a word with your local police station, maybe the pcos (or is it pcso?) See if they have any advice.

LazyJourno · 22/01/2010 14:04

get? got

aristocat · 22/01/2010 14:06

AgentZZ if its gonna make you feel better then do it.
love the idea of giving the drivers the finger do that too!

Original poster
AgentZigzag · 22/01/2010 14:08

The thing about the is it legal or not to indicate is that does/should that matter? Perhaps only if the police were to do something about it, but even then they're trying to prevent as well as prosecute when a law has been broken.

It shouldn't matter to the driver, who must be aware they should indicate, even if out of politeness to those around them, why would they not put their indicator on, it's hardly an effort to do it out of habit. So they must make a conscious (sp) effort not to put it on? As I said I don't drive so it's hard for me to understand why someone wouldn't. They're not fully aware of everything around them, because I'm there and they haven't told me they're going into the road.

Hassled, that's me to a T, but I'm a bit more angry confronting them than I'd normally be, must be my tigress hormones, nobody threatens my cub and gets away scott free

OP posts:
GypsyMoth · 22/01/2010 14:11

lazy journo.....yes,if the police officer in question witnessed it.

Original poster
AgentZigzag · 22/01/2010 14:12

I would give them the finger, and the wanker hand action, flick the Vs, start effing and jeffing etc, but I recon it might set me up for a fall when DD2 starts doing the same when were in Tescos

OP posts:
LazyJourno · 22/01/2010 14:21

Driving without due care and attention is a crime.

Once you set foot on the road you have priority over any car that turns into the road. Obviously I always assume car drivers don't know/have forgotten this or I'd be dead by now

Ivykaty44 · 22/01/2010 14:40

did number 8 apply - should the car have stopped for you?

Original poster
AgentZigzag · 22/01/2010 14:49

Yes it does Ivy. The road I was crossing was to my left, I looked back to the right where there were two cars coming along the main road, it was the second car that turned into the road I was crossing, but I'd already started to cross thinking neither of them were going to turn down.

If it was just an isolated incident I could perhaps just brush it off as some tosser, but it's happened so often this week that it's started to worry me that I have to walk DD2 to school.

OP posts:
Original poster
AgentZigzag · 22/01/2010 14:51

And as it's happened so often I'm really looking at the cars and slow to cross, so it's not me being impatient and crossing before cars have had a chance to indicate.

OP posts:
Ivykaty44 · 22/01/2010 15:57

agent - then it is your right of way - I don't think all drivers know this, I know when I have stopped and waved a pedestrain on - they look somewhat suprised - so I guess not all walking do

Rantagonist · 22/01/2010 21:06

YADNBU to expect drivers to tell you where they're going this drives me mad pardon the pun

Haggisfish · 22/01/2010 21:44

YANBU. As a driver, I detest other drivers who don't indicate - it's bloody annoying! I often stop to let pedestrians across becuase otherwise they'd be stuck in the middle of the road on the tiny island for ages - drives can be so insular and selfish. I would let the police know - you never know, they may have a spare minute and phone the drivers.

mum2all · 22/01/2010 22:13

Hassle - my DD does it too and can often be heard shouting from her car seat 'no,no, its alright, don't bother indicating, I don't need to know which way you're bl*y going!"

Zigzag - I would mention it to the school as they may have more weight with the police than you. Our school keeps in regular contact with the police after several parents approached us about the speed lorries were driving past the school. also are there any other mums walking your way to school? Together you could do a few things - see if they have the same problem then either all complain to police/school and/or wlk together, safety in numbers and all that?

EcoMouse · 22/01/2010 22:29

Keep a log and go to the police and council with it.

Road safety wrt creating necessary safe crossing for pedestrians is the councils responsibility and dangerous driving (which this is) is obviously down to the police.

I you report incidents to the police (weekly, for eg) the council will take it more seriously (at the end of each month, for eg).

It might be a lot of work but it might be worth it!

hmc · 22/01/2010 22:36

I think you are being OTT.

Onus is on car drivers to indicate - but stops sweating the small stuff, don't step off the pavement until you are sure no idiot car driver is going to whip around the corner.

Not worth getting steamed up about imo. Just be practical

hmc · 22/01/2010 22:40

Does nobody else assume that every other road user is a twonk? I do. It makes life easier - resigned acceptance and ultra vigilance (because anticipating wanky behaviour)

Original poster
AgentZigzag · 22/01/2010 23:06

hmc, I'm not sure how worrying about fuckwit drivers ploughing into the pram that has my three week old daughter in it is OTT. How am I supposed to know which cars are going to turn into the street I'm crossing? As I said earlier, I have to cross busy roads so I can't wait for all the cars to pass by as I'd never get my DD to school.

It might not mean much to you, but a car running into my pram is not small stuff to me.

OP posts:
Original poster
AgentZigzag · 22/01/2010 23:09

Just a thought hmc, but you're not one of the drivers who doesn't indicate are you?

OP posts:
pinkmagic1 · 22/01/2010 23:22

I'm not convinced the police would do much, but I agree how selfish and pig ignorant a lot of drivers can be, both to pedestrians and other drivers. On numerous occasions I have been stranded in the middle of a busy main road near my house with 2 young children and cars swerving around me in both directions. Also I hate when driving that despite indicating when you want to change lane nearly no one and I mean no one, ever gives way for you.

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