Mayhem at the school Gates
What a way to start a day!
When my son was at Primary School, every morning was a battle in and around the School gates, not to mention on the roads.
Parents rushing to get their little ones to school trying to find a parking space in one of the pitiful amount of spaces they had in the teeny Car Park, have schools not realised more than just a handful of parents will be dropping off and picking up their Children?
I suppose I was one of the lucky parents who lived close enough to the school to actually walk instead of taking the car. I actually enjoyed this more than driving there to be honest and it gave me and my son the chance to have a natter on the way, grabbing a little fresh air without the stresses and struggles of being stuck in the school traffic.
I definitely did not miss the endless horns beeping, parents winding down their windows and shouting abuse to each other. Some parents stressed as they needed to be back on the road to get to work, driving faster and more reckless than they usually would. Cars could be found abandoned on every corner, double yellow lines and even on the grass.
Are signs there to be ignored?
Cars reversing and driving into the staff car park where children are walking though completely ignoring the sign telling parents not to reverse or drive into this area.
Inconsiderate Parking
I was always frustrated and still do get wound up by the parents who park in the disabled spaces, with no badge displayed and watching actual disabled drivers struggling to walk longer distances to get to the playground as they cannot get parked any closer.
Is It Really Any Better Walking?
Do not get me wrong walking to school does have its frustrations and hazards along the way. The amount of times we have attempted to walk over the zebra crossing only to find Parents running late and driving like maniacs completely ignoring the fact there is a Zebra crossing and people trying to cross the road. Even though we are not driving my son still had to witness the arguments between drivers and the language and gestures on display.
From Primary to High School
When my son left primary school to go to high school I thought we had left all this behind, only to find it is actually a lot worse!
If I do drive we have to park about half a mile away outside of other peoples houses, which must frustrate the homeowners. If we walk to school it feels like we are playing dodge the maniac drivers to get over the road, the sheer volume of traffic is on a different scale to primary school.
The school has its own police on site; they attempt to move cars on that are blocking entrances and peoples driveways. It can sometimes take up to half an hour just to get to the end of the road, if you make it down without someone honking their horn, throwing you a lovely gesture or practically running into the back of your car, then you are a very lucky parent.
What Can Be Done?
Something must be done about this, I am sure these are not the only schools that are like this, I do not think that I am the only parent that has witnessed all these goings on. I am not perfect either I can admit I have honked my horn in the past, and a maybe little bit more when I have been pushed to my limit. Placing small traffic cones around the gate area may help to prevent cars from parking in areas that they shouldn’t be in.
Time to Change
I only hope things change before an accident happens or a fight breaks out in front of the School children. It is a shame they cannot at least feel relaxed before they start the school day, maybe some parents need to grow up and think about this before they decide to drive or park dangerously in the future and think of the children.
Does this sound like anyone else’s Morning School run hell?
I would love to hear your stories.
I walk my kids to school, its only 5 minutes away, there are people who live on our street who drive in which seems insane to me! the police are always stood outside wasting there time telling people how to park properly, its chaos
So many parents seem to think the only way to get their children to school is to drive. I fear we are all becoming a little too dependant on our cars…
There are parents round here that choose to send their children to schools that are further than a walk away because ‘its a better school’. What I think they forget though is that the children make the school, so how good the school is, is entirely dependent on how good the kids are, and who makes kids behave good? The parents! And if its the quality of education they are worried about, well they shouldn’t really be entirely dependent on teachers to provide, a good eduction comes from all round, I believe mostly from parents who encourage their children to learn things outside of school and apply themselves when they are in school.
I also think that the schools shouldn’t admit children who live more than a walking distance away, unless that they are under subscribed, that way most of the children/parents would have no excuse for not walking. I know people round here who although practically live on top of the school have been sent to one which is miles away!
I am planning for my girls go to the closest ones to me (they are pre school age at the moment) and I would always encourage them to find things out for themselves and expand on their knowledge outside of school.
I would be the same as you though and worry about their safety from drivers and other parents, the head should really have little chats with those parents that are causing the mayhem.
Oh god. I hate the school run with a passion. Millions of parents who drive there (despite living round the corner), kids running out onto the road without looking, people reversing without looking, women stood smoking and chatting in the middle of the pavement so you can’t get past with the pushchair … the list goes on! It’s a nightmare 🙁
Louise x
Confessions of a Secret Shopper
Like you I believe I could fill pages with the things discourteous parents do every day outside the school gates.
I am lucky enough to live 2 minutes away from my children’s primary school, but like you say, walking isn’t always easy anyway! We often face people driving like lunatics, almost mowing down the Lollipop lady. With 2 walking and one in a pushchair it also frustrates me when people park up on the pavements, forcing me to walk in the road with them all. I only have 2 hands – I cannot push the pushchair and hold 2 hands…
Your poor Lollipop lady!, I hate it when cars park where they shouldn’t and you have to walk with your children and push chair on the road. What if a car swerves then you are all in danger yet drivers don’t think of these things when they are parking and taking their children in to the school yard.
Oh my goodness – this is most certainly a ‘don’t get me started’ topic. I am a disabled driver, and without someone to get my chair out, I need to wait in the car for my children. You think my kids would be able to look towards the designated disabled spaces for my car, but sadly no. As for traffic and children, I agree drivers are careless, but also that parents can be too. It is basic road safety to teach your child not to run ahead in the car park, and to be mindful of cars. That being said, cars that park in the actual school ground when they shouldn’t are evading the childrens ‘safe area’ and are being wilfully ignorant.
I fully sympathise with you as one driver reversed into the passenger side of my car whilst my daughter was in it and nearly killed us. The impact dented both the passenger side doors and if I hadn’t grabbed my daughter out of the passenger sit in time god knows what would have happened.Our schools used to name and shame drivers by capturing their number plates and posting them in the weekly school newsletter. It would be so nice if parents were more considerate to the safety of others kids as well as their own.
How awful, glad you managed to get your daughter safely out of the car! Love that your school used to name and shame drivers with their number plates in the Newsletter, every school should try this!
Back when I was at school it was horrendous at kicking out time parents everywhere and not to mention sixth formers that had cars. They eventually opened up a parking area which eased the struggles
Our has a parking area, they just never seem to make them big enough, I don’t know who plans these things!
I live two doors away from our village school and it can be a nightmare getting our own car into the drive they are soo inconsiderate, they park right outside of my drive gates and the whole street is covered in cars parked on paths because of the street being soo small x i feel your pain lol, but i love the fun of being soo close too and not having to worry bout the conjestion x
I have always been envious of people living so close to School, especially in the winter! Although saying that When I see people parking in front of houses and the frustration they have trying to get to work or to other schools.I feel your pain too…but not so much in the winter, feel my jealousy
Thankfully we are able to walk to school and back every morning as we live a maximum of 10 minutes walk away, but everyday you see the nightmare of the school run! Inconsiderate parents, road-rage and sheer bloody-mindedness! I’m so glad we are close enough to walk!
I am sure the School run can turn even the most careful drivers into Road rage maniacs, Glad you can walk to school, It blows off the cobwebs too!
Completely agree with you something should be done. I don’t even have my two in school yet and I just moved to a new village that just got built. It’s a nightmare when school starts and finishes. No one can get anywhere and the way the layout of the road is ridiculous one road two way is for a whole school, coffee, shop, nursery, doctor’s office and community center. Can you believe that? One road two ways and no yellow lines so people park everywhere. Nightmare. I am not looking forward to walking my kids to school there for fear I will be run over. Great post. Sorry for my rant I could go on all day about it and I haven’t even got kids in school yet. Dear me. Thanks for linking up to Share With Me. Great to get to know your blog and you better as always love it. #sharewithme
I am walking to and from school too yet I have problems with cars. From the ones parking in double yellow lines to the ones who wouldn’t stop even when were crossing cuz they are probably late in picking their children. its a warzone and yes something needs to be done.
#sharewithme
Hi Rachel, I hope you dont mind I shared this blog on my own blog “blogged out” which i started today, concerned with these very issues that you point out.
No you are more than welcome to share this post David and thanks for asking!