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Original poster

I am shocked at what I have just realised - parking on zig zag lines outside school

48 replies

fryalot · 14/01/2008 11:43

This has been my bugbear all term. There are three or four mums who assume that the law about not parking on the zigzags outside school doesn't apply to them and I dp (vice chair of governors) is going to raise it at the next meeting.

Today, I realised that the woman who does this EVERY DAY is the Governor in charge of Health and Safety!!!!

Sorry, just had to get that out of my system - I'll go and make a cup of tea now

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SheikYerbouti · 14/01/2008 11:48

shocking

A child got run over outside a school near us because of this.

There is a school on my road. They all do it there as well. it pisses me off.

Good on your DP for raisning it. I don;t ofetn get het up about stuff, but this is important imho.

Original poster
fryalot · 14/01/2008 11:48

oh come on and be judgey with me

OP posts:
Original poster
fryalot · 14/01/2008 11:49

xposted with you sheik.

Tis bloody awful, isn't it!

I'm hoping that when dp raises it, she will be there and will be shamed into stopping doing it. And hopefully, if everyone sees her parking safely, they may follow suit

OP posts:
yorkshirepudding · 14/01/2008 11:49

Message withdrawn

Original poster
fryalot · 14/01/2008 11:55

they did that in our area (not our school though) just before Christmas. Oh, how we laughed at all the disgruntled parents in their 4 x 4s

Will wait and see what happens after governors meeting. Should I tell dp who the worst offender is (bearing in mind she will be with him at the meeting) or should I keep quiet and let him blunder in blindly?

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spacemanspiff · 14/01/2008 11:57

our head asks the police to stand o/s our gates and hand out tickets for a few days on the trot when it gets bad - and we are talking secondary here.

Original poster
fryalot · 14/01/2008 11:58

ours is a tiny village primary. The road outside the school isn't very busy and there would be no reason for a child to cross the road, so it's probably not that dangerous.

But even so, it's WRONG, WRONG WRONG!

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edam · 14/01/2008 12:00

Our head was out checking for illegal parking before Christmas and got the police to patrol, too. Seems to have mainly been the secondary school next door.

I think you should let dp go and be honest about how stupid this is and see if it shames the bloody woman into sorting herself out.

TheIceQueen · 14/01/2008 12:09

ooo that annoys me too - I live right next to the school and have (on several occasions ) told off parents who think it's their god given "right" to park across the school (staff) carpark - the most common answer is "I'm waiting for a parking space".....to which I usually to tell them to sod off to the next street (there's a shortcut directly through the church yard so not far to walk at all^) and find space there like most of the other parents have to do.

Other bugbear is people parking across our vicars drive.....she's got one of those lines (can't remember shape - but it means no parking allowed - I don't drive so please excuse ignorance) outside her drive so that people don't park across it - incase she has to get out at any moments notice (as is quite common with vicars in busy parishes). Anyhow, I had a right go at a women the other day - our vicar has just been hospitalised with suspected heart problems - and with them blocking her drive had she needed to go to the emergency doctors (as she did just before being admitted) she wouldn't have been able to get out [grr]

Boco · 14/01/2008 12:14

Oooh I have to go to a meeting about this on Wednesday. I run an art club at the school and got the children to design a flier to be handed out to try and get people to stop doing this - our school is on a bend in a narrow village lane and it makes it a total nightmare getting across the road with a buggy and a 5 year old - makes me so cross. Am supposed to come up with ideas by Wed but really i think the only one that'll work is the police handing out tickets.

bossybritches · 14/01/2008 12:15

One of my bugbears too Squonk- not judgemental at all!!

When my DHh was CBO for a small village on his patch he & the head of the local primary planned a blitz. They sent letters out warning if it didn't stop tickets would be issued, no change. So another letter giving warning that sometime soon tickets would be issued.No change. On the day he did the "swoop" he issued no fewer than 12 tickets & got 4 irate complaints & the head got another 6 or 7 demanding they be given warning next time.

(er...like it made a difference this time???)

The frightening thing is none of these women could see they had done anything wrong????

LadyOfTheCauliFlowers · 14/01/2008 12:16

Yep, some people are unbelieveable on the roads.
(In response to OP)

bossybritches · 14/01/2008 12:19

We had a meeting & the heada told parents if the situation didn't improve the council might considermaking the whole road outside the school a 20mph zone which means NO PARKING WHATSOEVER for quite a long stretch either side of the gate.

THEN the lazy sods would HAVE to park further away & walk!!

I've got so P'd of with it recently I drop my daughter at the bottom of the road & let her walk to keep away from the bun-fight. But she IS Y6 !!

handlemecarefully · 14/01/2008 12:21

"ours is a tiny village primary. The road outside the school isn't very busy and there would be no reason for a child to cross the road, so it's probably not that dangerous.

But even so, it's WRONG, WRONG WRONG! "

I'm inclined to disagree where the school is a tiny village primary with a very quiet road (like my school for instance).

Although I don't park down my school's road, the residents are too rabid / unhinged /demented. I park around the corner and walk the last bit

Blu · 14/01/2008 12:21

I suspect that it is the job of the parking / police in the area, not the school, though. Although raising it at a Governors meeting and asking that the governors request that the police do something is fair enough.

I think i would let him blunder in without knowing, tbh. he might feel inhibited otherwise, and offer a wishy washy ineffectual proposal around it!

Saturn74 · 14/01/2008 12:22

Take a photo of the cars parked on the lines, then email them to the headteacher, suggesting they inform all the children of the dangers of people parking there.

If the parents are too lazy/stupid/uninformed/vague/uncaring to realise, perhaps the fact that their children come home telling them that it is illegal might make a difference?

I think if someone is happy to act in such a dangerous manner, a bit of community 'policing' may shame them into parking safely.

Better a shame-faced governor than a squished child.

dustystar · 14/01/2008 12:24

I'm sure i read on here that one school took photos of the offenders and then stuck them on the school gates the next day for everyone to see. A sort of name and shame.

UnquietDad · 14/01/2008 12:26

Our head has asked again and again for people not to do it. She has raised it in letters, stands outside school at beginning and end and threatens to pas on registration numbers to police. And yet still people think the rule doesn't apply to them.

MamaG · 14/01/2008 12:28

squonk you should report her to the head

Original poster
fryalot · 14/01/2008 12:29

photos of the cars is a fab idea!

HMC - whilst it is not likely that it could cause an accident, it is still very possible. A child can in no way see around the cars parked on the zigzags to see what's coming. And just because there is probably no reason for them to cross the road outside the school, that doesn't mean that they won't iykwim.

And it's still illegal.

And what happens, is other parents see them parking there and assume that it must be ok to do so, so they park there as well. Some days it is literally wall to wall cars all the way up the road.

Although when they park in front of the school, they're not parking in front of my drive, so maybe I should shut up moaning and count my blessings

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AlwaysTheMummy · 14/01/2008 14:05

at my ds school, they name and shame the people parking on the zigzags in the schools newsletter, they name the car with the full registration

FioFio · 14/01/2008 14:07

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

Original poster
fryalot · 14/01/2008 14:41

Exactly, fio. I see mums parking legally struggling with babies and toddlers - they don't use the zigzags so why should anyone else?

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Heated · 14/01/2008 14:54

Do you think I can get away with the bad parking at my local primary as a valid reasons for turning the school down??!!

The parents not only park on the zig-zag lines outside the local primary, but on the pavement as well, forcing those who happen to pass by the school at the wrong time into the road, which includes mothers with prams and wheelchair users! Oh, the temptation to catch a wing mirror as we're forced to dodge the traffic...

It leads me to conclude the children who attend have selfish cretins for parents and I don't want my child to go there (if he can dodge out behind a parked car to get in)!!

Original poster
fryalot · 14/01/2008 14:57

I think that is a perfectly valid reason!

In fact, I would make damn sure that I told the head about it.

If dp wasn't a governor, and if he wasn't off to a governors' meeting fairly soon, I would be writing or ringing the head to have a word.

Tis quite possible the teachers don't even know about it, them being inside all the time

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