VENT: School run mum/dad's

olly300

I live in a residents' parking zone that starts at 8.30am and finishes at 6.30pm with a primary school opposite.

When it was introduced the parking attendants did nothing for a week until I got fed up and sent a email asking "Why they put in the zone if they weren't going to enforce it?"

Then for the next two weeks 3 parking attendants turned up around 9am, around mid-day (to catch the shoppers) and around 3.30pm, and the number of school run parents driving to school decreased.

A couple of them actually tried to get violent with the attendants but when 2 of them are rather large guys and you have a lot of people including your child's classmates watching it's not a good idea.

I now don't have my car boxed in completely between 8.45am and 10am, and my neighbour doesn't have to worry that if he goes out on an early job he can get back and park.

I have noticed a few of the parents still drive to school but they park a couple of streets away and actually put money in the meters to pay for parking.

olly300

atarisrocks wrote: »

if it my day off and nothing on tv i just go to the window and watch the carnage it like wwe meets jeremy kyle some days

Near my nephews' house we like looking at the top of their road at about 3.27pm.

A car - different one each time- frequently parks there and that's the time the parking attendants walk speedily down the road and give out a parking ticket. They have worked out the optimal time to give the driver 5 minutes and to manage handing out a ticket. (The primary school is round the corner this time.)

I've worked out all the parking attendants in London know which cars should be on which section of road.

My car never gets checked now and I've seen cars with out of date or no parking permits that also don't get checked. The only time the attendants check all cars is if they are new to the area.

elphaba

I've had the misfortune of trying to get home that's near a primary school at school run time. We have those speed enforcement things where the road goes down to one lane and there's a clear sign as to who gives way, which the parents tend to ignore because they can't be bothered to wait a minute for me to go past first and then give me a look as if I'm in the wrong. One of my colleagues lives right next to the school and was telling me how one time her husband was trying to get down the road but all the parents had blocked the way and they tried telling him it was suppose to be one way at certain times, they had to drive up onto the verge for him to get past.

Dave_C_2

Don't most schools come with huge drop/off pick-up zones?
I believe they are called playgrounds.
The schools could charge to use the facilities

Dave

OneYorkshireLass

The school down my lane doesn't use the playground for pick up/drop off - too dangerous, apparently - so the parents all park on the roadside and everyone else gets backed up behind them.

The fun really starts when the double-decker bus tries to get through the carnage and the driver just sits there and has everyone else move around him. One mother once got in such a tizz because she couldn't reverse (because of her lack of driving skills, not the state of the traffic around her) that she got out of the car, slammed the door and sat on the kerb like a two year old having a paddy. A bloke had to come to the rescue and move the car for her!

It is really annoying, though, when parents sit outside peoples' houses with their engine running and the music on sometimes for around 50 minutes. You might be cosy and warm and in a prime position for picking up the little 'uns but the residents are a bit peeved off having to listen to Radio 1.

junkmayle

If they have time to sit there for half an hour, the lazy sods have time to walk there.

MothballsWallet

There's a primary school near where I work where the parents love to park on the pavement if they can't get a space in front of the school itself.

Once when I was walking up that street, I had to walk on the grass bank to get past a car that a parent had parked fully on the pavement (and they were sitting in it) - I thought parking the full width on the pavement is illegal (I've certainly reported people before for it to the non-emergency police number, with photo evidence)?

Dave_C_2

MothballsWallet wrote: »

Once when I was walking up that street, I had to walk on the grass bank to get past a car that a parent had parked fully on the pavement (and they were sitting in it) - I thought parking the full width on the pavement is illegal (I've certainly reported people before for it to the non-emergency police number, with photo evidence)?

It's illegal in That London (Rule 244) but as far as the rest of the UK is concerned it's anybody's guess.

The Highway code has a big list of places where it's illegal to park

The first one in the DO NOT list (rule 243) is near a school

Dave

Jinx

I'm in Scotland and I asked the police re the parking on pavements thing (not re school but causing prob with parking) and its not illegal here - not meant to but not illegal!

sheilavw

When mine were at primary I used to collect them on my way home from work. Across from the school was an empty factory with huge car park (since demolished) , I parked on there (I was the only one) and crossed the road with warden to school, took 60 seconds. Several Parents chose to park on double yellow lines and wait in the yard, but were shouting the odds when they got a parking ticket!