Terrible parking during school run

[grey12]

At both DD's schools, the amount of people who are terrible parkers is mind blowing!!! The double yellow lines and school zigzag markings are barely visible with cars parked on them!!!! Do they not know it's illegal??? Or why it's illegal??? A small child is going to be run over one of these days!!!!

Is it just my council?! Or does this happen everywhere?

[PastMyBestBeforeDate]

I don't know what schools can do though Wines. Some parents will be aggressive or unpleasant if challenged in person. The school has no power over the road outside. Our school sends pleas for sensible driving and parking out regularly but it makes no difference.

[Aroundtheworldin80moves]

I was late to pick up my children this week- party because I couldn't get onto the road where the school is (last pick up) due to the bad driving and parking. The response from the school was they presumed it was the case, as they know if the the driving issue but can't physically force the parents to be courteous. (Giving way on a road with only room for one column of moving traffic- not giving way to traffic coming the other direction).

[Winesalot]

It is true that the only things they can do is ask politely in newsletters, or publish number plates and photos of cars, or have a large banner in front reminding parkers. Or have a senior teacher talk to parents as they come through the school gates.

I know all about how aggressive people get when they know they have bent the rules.

[Elieza]

@PresentingPercy i didn’t forget. Please reread my post where I said

“The answer is more staff serving the public. More tax inspectors would recoup more money from catching tax evaders than their salaries cost. More parking wardens and police could also bring in more money in fines than their salary costs”.

If people get fined for parking illegally and it’s taken to court every time and happens regularly then in theory they would learn from their own and others mistakes. And not do it again.

In the meantime their fines would pay for the public purse to hire police, tax inspectors or administrators to continue enforcing the law.

Eventually no more fines would be brought in if people stopped law breaking and those staff would no longer be required and natural wastage would happen.

That would be my suggestion for increasing prosecution for crimes at no extra cost to the public purse.

[Zodlebud]

My friend lived next door to a private school and had a lady who seemed to think it was ok to park on her driveway to do drop off and pick up - an arrangement she had apparently had with the previous owners. When she explained that actually she, as the new owner, was not happy with that arrangement the lady told her there really wasn’t anything she could do - and she was right!!!!

The police can’t get involved as it’s seen as a civil matter. You can get the car towed at your expense but any damage to the car and you’re liable, or you can spend thousands on a legal case.

In the end she installed electric gates but she got the man who delivered the huge bags of stuff to make the cement to handily drop it off on her driveway and block the lady in. She had left a note on her windscreen the day before asking her not to park there due to the delivery so it was her own stupid fault.

My friend hid in her house and watched the builder stroke his chin whilst he told her it was going to take two to three days for it to be moved. Lady didn’t have a leg to stand on as she had been informed it was happening and my friend hadn’t done anything wrong.

Lady then took to parking in front of her new gates. Some people just really are horrible (and my friend moved).

[Winesalot]

I had a women park across me drive because she knew it pissed me off. She did it most days to pick up her kids from her mum across the road a bit. Her mother told her she was completely within her legal rights (mother used to work at council). I asked her to stop so many times and quoted the council by-law even but to no avail.

It took me asking her when her husband was in the car who asked what the hell was happening watching while the aggressive mother was trying to block my talking to the daughter in the driver seat. The husband basically said that the pair were in the wrong and what the hell did they think they were at. And the women admitted she was doing it deliberately even when there was parking closer because she wanted to ‘show me’.

The car has never been back across the drive.

[RaspberryCoulis]

Do they not know it's illegal??? Or why it's illegal???

Oh they know. They just don't care.

We live a couple of doors away from a primary school and we see it every day. There are loads of spaces in a car park 5 minutes or less walk away but the precious little pickles couldn't POSSIBLY walk that far!

Total selfish, self-centredness. Residents complain, schools send emails, it gets better for 2 minutes, first wet day they're back, parked as close to the gate as they can humanly get.

[grey12]

@70isaLimitNotaTarget I do fantasise as well that a traffic warden comes and tickets everyone! IMO, they don't need to be ticketing people who have gone over their paid parking by 5 minutes.... maybe their time would be better spent in keeping school kids safe

[BrigitsBigKnickers]

Same near the school where my DDs went and this was 15 years ago. One day when I was walking DD to school some stupid cow not only pulled up on the pavement next to the zig zags, she proceeded to fling open the door of her huge jeep oblivious to the small pedestrians walking by. If I hadn't been quick off the mark and grabbed the door as it opened DD would have been sent flying. The filthy look she gave me for daring to lay a hand on her car was comical. So was her face a few weeks later when the traffic warden paid a visit one morning and gave her a ticket!

[tissueboxx]

Parents know they just don't care.

In the school I used to work at we reminded the parents in the newsletter weekly, put up signs etc. Eventually a child was hit and broke his leg, didn't change anything for long.

[tissueboxx]

Posted too soon. At my dc school everyone was ticketed about a year ago.

The main offender got a ticket and still parks on zigzags daily.

[lorisparkle]

We have parents parking on both sides of the road blocking access for emergency vehicles onto school site. Even though on one occasion an ambulance was unable to get onto the school site when a child had a seizure, parents still block the road. They have been told frequently. They have also been asked repeatedly to allow access for coaches when the children return from school trips but again they ignore the requests.

[underneaththeash]

I discounted a couple of schools in Hampstead as the parent's parking was horrendous.

There's always things you can do to prevent bad parking on your road. Annoying stickers, parking car right up to the bumper on either side, something unpleasant on the door handle etc....

[PresentingPercy]

School parking fines won’t pay for a traffic warden. They might in the first week. It’s not going to happen. Also people in small cars flung doors open too. If they open a door in the path of a cyclist or motorbike it’s catastrophic. It’s not just a big car problem!