Lazy parents drive me nuts...

pinkfluffybabe

MarkyMarkD wrote: »

Assuming you are not exaggerating the time differential, have you not considered that by leaving the house 20 minutes earlier, you'd save 20 minutes (or more) of driving time?

Why not save all this time and congestion and get to work earlier, and do something useful with the time when you get there?

Because this isn't a 'my name is Ben and I need advice on avoiding traffic' thread - it's about lazy parents who drive their kids to school.

He was just using the different journey times as an indication of how much impact the school run has on the roads.

MarkyMarkD

I'm well aware of that, thanks pinkfluffy - could you be a bit more condescending, please?

The point I was making is that congestion isn't JUST caused by those who are unnecessarily driving their kids to school. It's also caused by other people who drive at times when others are driving their kids to school, but who could drive earlier or later to avoid compounding the problem.

I also WOULD incur significantly increased travel times to work if I chose to drive past the schools at school start times - so I don't. It's not rocket science.

Savvy_Sue

Yes, but if we all left early to avoid the school run, we'd have to leave our children at home alone to see themselves out to school (which would provoke another fierce debate), and if we leave later we'll be home later, and add to the latchkey kid numbers ...

Plus we can't all do flexible hours!

cheekyweegit

Hiya,

My 3 kids are all at High School now which is literally 5mins - 10mins if they dawdle along the road, but one of the things they all remember is the walks to primary school and me coming to collect them on my bike in the better weather and all taking turns to sit on either the handle bars or the cross bar and take them down the road to the house which was about a mile away.

As they got bigger, I lost the bike to them and they would take turns to ride it down the road, with me often chasing them! Everyone laughing including a lot of their friends who were never sure if I was a cool mum or a daft one for doing it in the first place. Which ever, if they were offered a chance on the "bars", I don't think any of them turned it down. When it came to who enjoyed it most - to be honest I have no idea, as judging by the laughter, they did, and by the smile on my face, so did I.

I did on occasion when time was short or in bad weather take the car to drop and pick them up from the same school and watched the parking wars as folks badgered for the space nearest the gates, and like so many, I was amazed at some folks who would bring their cars for what was only a 5 min maybe 10 min walk at the most.

A walk to and from school where possible is a great way to gossip with the kids, and catch up, generally finding out what's going on before they get home and starting their busy social life or making demands be it for food, drinks, is my pink / green / yellow polka dot t-shirt ironed? or even disappear into their rooms onto the dreaded pc suddenly becoming anti social, losing their ability to communicate unless it's through msn, not withstanding the odd grunt of acknowledgement when tea / dinner is ready.

Oh and can't remember who it was but there is two private schools in Dundee, Dundee High which most folks know in the centre of the town by the museum, and Springfield, (the old St Mathews in Tranent Crescent, Whitfield - I'm an old Whittie lassie, ok not so old!).

Ramble over and interesting thread.

ailuro2

Oooh- I didn't know there was another- Springfield is private??
I did remember about the other school on Strathearn Road but not sure if it is still open- the school inspectors kept closing it down.:eek:

I thought Springfield was just another renamed school- like Powrie Primary was renamed Claypotts Castle before they knocked it to the ground, and Whitfield High is now Braeview Academy- so you were an 'Academy' attendee?:p

Gingham_Ribbon

ben500 wrote: »

I think you will find the subject of the op is the school run and the adverse effect it has on traffic, not the commuter run and the adverse effect it has on the school run, is there anything you don't interpret to meet your own prejudice?

Just a point: the school run IS traffic just as the commuter run is traffic. People who drive to work who could easily walk there are contributing to all the same problems that the school runners who could walk do. (I appreciate that a 7 mile journey to work is going to be best in a car or bus, I wasn't meaning you, Ben.)

The cars who are parked near the local primary schools are there well before school starts and there for a good couple of hours after it finishes. They're people who work nearby who want to avoid paying for parking. They park on corners, over junctions etc and I almost knocked a little girl over who dashed out from between parked cars the other day. Of course children should walk to school where it's reasonable. But likewise, adults should walk to work where it's reasonable. It always makes me laugh that people travelling to work blame school traffic for congestion when the 5 o'clock traffic jams I encounter when I can't avoid them are nothing to do with schools.

Toto

I guess I'm one of the parents you're all moaning about. I do live 20 mins walk away and I drive my daughter to primary school. However, I also have a child with severe learning disabilities, who goes to a special school. Her school bus doesn't pick her up until 8.40 in the morning, which means my other daughter would be 10 mins late every day if we walked. At the other end of the day, if I walked to pick up DD1, DD2 would be sitting outside the house for 10 mins on the bus waiting for me to walk home from the primary school.

There could be many reasons why people choose to drive to school in the morning, most of them invisible. I would find it unlikely that EVERY parent who drives to your local school chooses to pay for petrol to sit in traffic, have parking nightmares every day, just because they're lazy.

Of course there's no excuse for parking across driveways, but I do get tired of these mass generalisations. Just because you can't physically see why someone takes their car doesn't mean there isn't a perfectly good explanation.

tigtag02

Toto wrote: »

I guess I'm one of the parents you're all moaning about. I do live 20 mins walk away and I drive my daughter to primary school. However, I also have a child with severe learning disabilities, who goes to a special school. Her school bus doesn't pick her up until 8.40 in the morning, which means my other daughter would be 10 mins late every day if we walked. At the other end of the day, if I walked to pick up DD1, DD2 would be sitting outside the house for 10 mins on the bus waiting for me to walk home from the primary school.

There could be many reasons why people choose to drive to school in the morning, most of them invisible. I would find it unlikely that EVERY parent who drives to your local school chooses to pay for petrol to sit in traffic, have parking nightmares every day, just because they're lazy.

Of course there's no excuse for parking across driveways, but I do get tired of these mass generalisations. Just because you can't physically see why someone takes their car doesn't mean there isn't a perfectly good explanation.

I have been reading this thread with interest and Toto - I couldn't have put my feelings into better words!!
Touche!

sleepymy

Toto wrote: »

I guess I'm one of the parents you're all moaning about. I do live 20 mins walk away and I drive my daughter to primary school. However, I also have a child with severe learning disabilities, who goes to a special school. Her school bus doesn't pick her up until 8.40 in the morning, which means my other daughter would be 10 mins late every day if we walked. At the other end of the day, if I walked to pick up DD1, DD2 would be sitting outside the house for 10 mins on the bus waiting for me to walk home from the primary school.

There could be many reasons why people choose to drive to school in the morning, most of them invisible. I would find it unlikely that EVERY parent who drives to your local school chooses to pay for petrol to sit in traffic, have parking nightmares every day, just because they're lazy.

Of course there's no excuse for parking across driveways, but I do get tired of these mass generalisations. Just because you can't physically see why someone takes their car doesn't mean there isn't a perfectly good explanation.

But you've got a perfectly good reason for driving your kids to school. I don't think this thread is about people like you at all. It's more about people like a girl I know who's husband bought her a fiesta to take the kids to school 'on a wet day', every day's a wet day apparently. The school is 300 - 400 yrds from their house, and no neither she or her kids have a disability.

tanith

tanith wrote: »

How many people would actually own up to taking their kids to school by car when they could perfectly well walk? Those who live a good distance away need not comment as its not you I am complaining about.... its those that could walk but are too damn lazy......

If you had read my opening paragraph in this thread you would of discovered that I DID NOT MEAN YOU!!!! I did mean only the lazy people, they know who they are.......