Drop off time outside a private school
Plenty of people complain about school run mums and their selfish attitudes but I'd like to gripe about a particular type of school run mum, the ones that drop their kids of at private schools.
On my 19 mile drive to work I pass 6 different schools so I leave 15-20 minutes earlier than I would need to at any other time of the day to account for getting stuck behind the school buses. Notwithstanding this I always hit the junction where there is a large private school at around 08:45 am. Prime dropping off time.
The turning into the school is roughly in the middle of a 500 yard straight section of road, but this doesn't stop the mums that have dropped their little angels off from pulling right out in front of you as if they never saw you.
They don't even have the decency to pretend that they never saw you, they see you coming, wait till your close enough that they can look you in the eye and then just pull out! I think they assume they have right of way because they drive a big 4x4 or a BMW and can afford to send their children to private school. They're such ignorant people!
I wouldn't mind so much if they pulled out and sped off with their big engines, but no, they cause you brake hard enough to bang your head on the steering wheel and then your stuck behind them puttering along at 35-40 mph because they don't have a job to get to. Its not just one mum either, its all of them and it only happens at that school, not the other half dozen schools that I pass on my way to work. All my neighbours that use that route to work also complain about them, but we are at a loss as to what can be done about them!
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We all get carried away sometimes DSG, but you took the criticism on the chin, so good for you. I get carried away too at times and I don't have the excuse of being a kid.
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Sorry about that last post. As a kid,I tend to get carried away a bit...
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DSG - I don't mean to be hard on you and I meant to say that I liked your posts about cycling, especially the stationary objects.
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"Do they seriously think I'm going to allow a bit more space in front of me in case the small person suddenly .....flings itself under my wheels?
Come on kid, you are giving the impression that you are driving rather than that mummy was dropping you off at the expensive private school.
You know I got to 48 before I became grouchy; you are much too young to be so critical of other people and so pessimistic in your outlook.
Come on kid, you are giving the impression that you are driving rather than that mummy was dropping you off at the expensive private school.
You know I got to 48 before I became grouchy; you are much too young to be so critical of other people and so pessimistic in your outlook.
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I know that Chris. It's just when I get dropped off at school,I take notice of those signs,OK?
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DSG said "What do people expect me to do when I read the "Baby on board" or "Small person on board" sticker in the back window of their car?"
As you have frequently told everyone that you are 14 , what I would expect is that you would not be driving.
As you have frequently told everyone that you are 14 , what I would expect is that you would not be driving.
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What do people expect me to do when I read the "Baby on board" or "Small person on board" sticker in the back window of their car? Do they seriously think I'm going to allow a bit more space in front of me in case the small person suddenly chews through its harness, throws open the car door and flings itself under my wheels? Or perhaps they're trying to warn me that their own driving may be a bit erratic, as they are constantly having to turn round and coo at the little darling or sing little nursery songs to keep it amused, or pick its little rusk out of the ashtray? No, I don't think so. What they're doing is bragging. They're so proud that they've actually managed to do what millions of other couples (and many thousands of single people too) have done since the dawn of time, what animals do with monotonous regularity and without conscious thought.
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As someone whose kids go to a private school and who does the school run daily, I have to agree. Arrogance isnt the word for most of them.
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If you bang your head on the steering wheel because you've had to brake hard, then you are either lying, or not wearing your seat belt !
I agree with Biker Hater, methinks the author or authoress of this article has a ruddy great tree on their shoulder !!
LouiseR : I drive a Micra !! I will not have her insulted !! I live in the country, am very horsey and doggie, and certainly am not averse to getting my car muddy. In fact, as I type, she is sitting out on my drive covered in mud because she has not been washed for about 6 months. I don't see the point washing cars, I really don't. All the horse **** and mud protects the paintwork from bird **** and salt on the roads.
How can you say no-one aspires to have a Micra - I do !! They are fab cars (the new shape, not the old I have to say). She turns on a sixpence, does 48 to the gallon, I can squeeze her in anywhere, the insurance is dirt cheap, she has an intelligent key so even if anyone broke into the car, they couldn't start her up and drive her away. I am a HUGE Micra fan, and accuse YOU Louise of being Micra-ist !!
I agree with Biker Hater, methinks the author or authoress of this article has a ruddy great tree on their shoulder !!
LouiseR : I drive a Micra !! I will not have her insulted !! I live in the country, am very horsey and doggie, and certainly am not averse to getting my car muddy. In fact, as I type, she is sitting out on my drive covered in mud because she has not been washed for about 6 months. I don't see the point washing cars, I really don't. All the horse **** and mud protects the paintwork from bird **** and salt on the roads.
How can you say no-one aspires to have a Micra - I do !! They are fab cars (the new shape, not the old I have to say). She turns on a sixpence, does 48 to the gallon, I can squeeze her in anywhere, the insurance is dirt cheap, she has an intelligent key so even if anyone broke into the car, they couldn't start her up and drive her away. I am a HUGE Micra fan, and accuse YOU Louise of being Micra-ist !!
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The author of this gripe obviously has a chip on their shoulder.
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you should attend your local state school and walk. then all schools would be much the same and not " good " and "bad " schools.
private education sucks
private education sucks
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I don't have children. I don't want them. However, I can't afford one car to tow with and one to drive normally!! And I live in a village, so it would be a bit difficult to avoid driving in it. How, exactly, does driving my 4x4 in Sainsburys cause people a problem? I have better visibility and, as it is short wheelbase, a better turning circle than most family saloons. I think you may have an exaggerated impression of the width too.
There are incompetent drivers in all cars, I can really see no reason why people pick on 4x4s, other than that they are conspicuous. In my experience of driving on narrow roads, I would MUCH rather meet a 4x4 driver, who generally has the sense and ability to pull up the bank if they need to than anyone else.
There are incompetent drivers in all cars, I can really see no reason why people pick on 4x4s, other than that they are conspicuous. In my experience of driving on narrow roads, I would MUCH rather meet a 4x4 driver, who generally has the sense and ability to pull up the bank if they need to than anyone else.
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"I drive a 4x4 because I have horses and use it to tow a trailer, and it also goes off road"
That's fine, I don't think any reasonable person would object to that.
Here are a couple of possibly hypothetical questions. Do you use it to go to Sainsburys or to drive on the narrow streets in your local village? Do you use it to drop your children in the street outside their schools?
If you do, then you are the type of person that generates complaints that you are reading about.
That's fine, I don't think any reasonable person would object to that.
Here are a couple of possibly hypothetical questions. Do you use it to go to Sainsburys or to drive on the narrow streets in your local village? Do you use it to drop your children in the street outside their schools?
If you do, then you are the type of person that generates complaints that you are reading about.
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I have to say this smacks of random prejudice. I drive a 4x4 because I have horses and use it to tow a trailer, and it also goes off road. The biggest problems I encounter are drivers of small cars – usually a micra or similar – on country roads who seem to have a terror of going any where near mud or hedgerows. They sit their in the middle of the road (no white lines to help them), trembling because they might need to reverse or pull over and they don't have the spacial awareness to manage it. They also lack the sense to stop at a passing point when they see a vehicle coming towards them. No one complains about them. Why? Because nobody aspires to own a Micra!
I have to say, of all the schools I go past in the morning, the private schools are the least bother because all their parking is in a car park not on the road!
I have to say, of all the schools I go past in the morning, the private schools are the least bother because all their parking is in a car park not on the road!
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Oh well said! The north Wales town I live in has tiny, narrow roads and these 4 X 4s cause havoc. I was almost crushed once as one came round the corner where there wasn't a pavement....
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I have a large merc estate, and I drive as sensibly and as courteously as possible. But then again, I didn't buy it cause it was big, I bought it cause it was £250 and in good condition.
What's going on with these super-clean 4x4s with as much ground clearance as a corsa. 4x4s are made for off-roading, not for school runs. Either buy a proper one and get it filthy, or don't get one at all.
What's going on with these super-clean 4x4s with as much ground clearance as a corsa. 4x4s are made for off-roading, not for school runs. Either buy a proper one and get it filthy, or don't get one at all.
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I encounter this sort of thing too. Strait slightly busy road. Everyone double parks for about 200 meters each way from the school, casuing HUGE traffic jams.
About 7 months ago a woman in a landrover sport pulled out as I was traveling down the 1 car width road and she pulled out, sat their shouting at me and refused to budge. I and 4 other cars reversed for about 40 meters. No thanks, just a lot of swaering at me, tooting horn and obsene hand gestures.
2 weeks later I was in a LWB merc sprinter Grey van on my way past again and I couldn't believe it when she did the same thing, again. Only this time, I had about 15 - 20 cars behind me and the road behind her, including the spot she pulled out from was clear. Imagine my disbelief when, after 2 minutes of sitting there watching the abuse coming my way, she engaged 4wd and tried pushing my van out of the way....mistake.
Result.. her 4x4 had ££££'s damage, my van needed 2 new headlamps, new grill and bumper and she was arrested on the spot. As luck would have it, just as she'd started toward my van, a marked police car came tootling down behind her. Justice!
About 7 months ago a woman in a landrover sport pulled out as I was traveling down the 1 car width road and she pulled out, sat their shouting at me and refused to budge. I and 4 other cars reversed for about 40 meters. No thanks, just a lot of swaering at me, tooting horn and obsene hand gestures.
2 weeks later I was in a LWB merc sprinter Grey van on my way past again and I couldn't believe it when she did the same thing, again. Only this time, I had about 15 - 20 cars behind me and the road behind her, including the spot she pulled out from was clear. Imagine my disbelief when, after 2 minutes of sitting there watching the abuse coming my way, she engaged 4wd and tried pushing my van out of the way....mistake.
Result.. her 4x4 had ££££'s damage, my van needed 2 new headlamps, new grill and bumper and she was arrested on the spot. As luck would have it, just as she'd started toward my van, a marked police car came tootling down behind her. Justice!
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Are you the big fat lady with the gas guzzling 4x4? Are you the gross horrible harridan congesting our highways? Get out of my way! You think just because you've got money you can rule the lanes. Well you can't. I will see to it that you and your car are crushed out of existence.
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4x4 ten ton tessa slayer - 7-Jun-09 11:54
Their behaviour shows what they are really like on the inside.
They try to paint a glossy image because of the money they have (unless they are so obsessed they get themselves so much into debt for this or are able to sponge off the state).
A chain is only as strong as its weakest link and their capability is weaker than the car.
They try to paint a glossy image because of the money they have (unless they are so obsessed they get themselves so much into debt for this or are able to sponge off the state).
A chain is only as strong as its weakest link and their capability is weaker than the car.
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I know the school is not responsible for the driving habits of the Mums, but a letter to the Head asking them to give a leaflet to the all pupils to take home to the parents, Headed 'Are you an inconsiderate driver Mum/Dad', with the content saying 'Over the next few weeks the pupils will be conducting a survey to find out if you are or not' and giving an example of being inconsiderate as follows ' for example it has come to our notice that other drivers passing our school have been made to stop suddenly for certain drivers who pull out from our premises without due care and attention. Are you one of these. We may name and shame you'. Then ask for a section which says, 'To the Pupils, would you want other pupils at the school knowing that your Mum is one of the ones to blame for the bad name this school has with other drivers who pass here, if you don't then make sure your Mum drives better'
I dont suppose it will happen, but maybe you could get a few printed yourself to give out
I dont suppose it will happen, but maybe you could get a few printed yourself to give out
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