School run drivers

[HP]

Just heard on the radio today that 'statistics' suggest that 200 lives a year could be saved if people stop driving their kids to school and walk instead.

Poses two questions.

First, will it really save 200 lives if more kids are walking to school instead of being driven in a nice safe car? After all, there will be more kids crossing busy roads on foot etc......

Second, I always have and always will resist the school's walk to school week campaign until my son is old enough to walk there on his own. I have been told a few times that it'd be better if we didn't take the car by people who 'know better'. What throwaway claims like these by teachers and on the radio fail to take into account is local councils.

My situation is this: There are two schools near me, one no more than five minute's walk away and the other which is around half an hour's walk plus for a five year old, or 5 mins drive. Guess which school's catchment area the local council have us in? You guessed it, the furthest. All because we live on the wrong side of a road.

'Aha', you say - 'but surely the closer school would have allowed you to go there anyway'.
Yes and no. They could have offered a nursery place but couldn't guarantee a primary place - because we're in the wrong catchment area. I wasn't going to disturb the lad by swapping schools between nursery and primary, just wouldn't be fair on him to have to start with a whole new bunch of kids, would it?

So my little voice to the statisticians and those who 'know better':

Get stuffed!

 

[Stu DemonD]

There is no way Jules can take the children to school by foot - for starters, crossing the A43 is a nightmare during peak times.

Even though it is a 40mph limit, they refused to put a proper crossing in, and opted for one of those small islands - really safe with juggernauts bearing down on you at 60 or so, and everyone huddled together.

So the school run has to be done by car - at least the Ulysse tends to have a minimum of 4 kids in it, and she always parks in a legal spot, and not on double yellows which causes even more choas. The Police now tend to be down there every morning, keeping an eye on mums

Some of these council do-gooders don't live in the real world.....

 

[Steven]

I usually do the school run in the Alfa at about 60mph. What's unsafe about that??

 

[joecinq]

The statistic of saving 200 lives is a joke to say the least. I can't see how its gonna save lives if people are walking. I'll opt for just driving my car at walking pace before making my little sis walk.

 

[Alex]

Pete, I think your right... who lets a 5yr old walk a 30 minute walk to school? Does the school not have a bus service? I know my old one used to. The local council used to run it.

 

[Dr_Pepper]

Obviously in your circumstance you have to drive the kids to school. But that doesn't mean that there aren't people who drive when they should be walking.

Lots of accidents happen right outside the schools where children walking are run down by women who can't drive in child-eating 4x4's that they can't see out of, and that live so close they should be walking anyway. That's an example of where the lives would be saved if people that should walk do walk.

I don't think the statisticians are suggesting that everyone walk their kids to school, just that people who can reasonably walk to school do so.

 

[Guzzi Steve]

I always walk my daughter to school.It's about a twenty minute round trip,taking the car is a waste of time for us.Cos the traffic from all the other school run peeps,means that you can't park anyhow! The standard of driving is appalling.Most of them live closer to school that we do.They are just lazy,& why any one needs a humungus 4x4.Too take one child 400yds,is beyond me. Whilst I can appreciate that some peeps don't have a choice in driving their children to school.there are an awful lot that do but just can't be bothered.

 

[Neofolis]

There's no mention of the problem of paedophiles. When I was seven, I used to have an hour walk to school. There is no way I will be letting my kids do that when they are that age.

I have to do the school run every Thursday, it is hell. I always drive, cos trying to get three kids of 3,5 and 6 to stay with me and adopt proper road safety procedures is a nightmare. That said, the missus walks with them every other day, she has my sympathy.

 

[Alex22]

My bro couldn't really walk to school> its like 10 miles away!

 

[Stu DemonD]

Hmm, wonder how many steps that would be on his Walkers-o-meter, or whatever!!!

 

[JonnyBoy]

Until I moved to Uni, I lived round the corner from a primary and secondary school (which I went to). And loads of kids from our village who lived no more than 10 mins away from the school were brought in cars, so our road was (and still is) always jammed at from 8.30 to 9am and from 3pm to 3.30pm.

These lazy f***ers, who could've walked their kids to school in probably less time than it would take to negotiate the traffic jam, instead choose to take the car just because they can't be arsed to walk. The ones who didn't live in our village, fair enough, but those who did and still drove are just slack.

The "safety" argument is b***ocks as well; if a parent walks their kid to school then that child should be perfectly safe (unless the parent is a halfwit with no grasp of basic road safety). In fact they will be better set for later life when they have to walk places, as they will learn road safety first hand. Not to mention the fact that most kids need the exercise as Britain is a nation of grossly overweight and unfit kids thanks to TV/video games, and those parents who moan "they're safer in front of the tv than out on their bike". F*** OFF. Before the days of playstations and 24-hour cartoons on satellite telly, kids actually went out and played proper games like football and british bulldogs in the street. And we didn't get killed because in the good old days (i.e. 10 years ago) there weren't a million pricks in X5's talking on their mobile phones while on the way to pick the kids up from school.

This is a subject really gets my back up, if the tone of the reply didn't already give that away... and if I offended anybody, good.

 

[nwmlarge]

i think perhaps the point is being missed
the idea is that coaches etc are layed on instead
i used to go to school on a coach
and those who can can walk its not un reasonable

 

[Steven]

In my opinion it's like this;

I bought my car, it's insured, it's taxed, it's mot'ed. I'll drive it wherever the f*ck I like whenever the f*ck I like. If I want to sit in traffic on the school run that's my business. Anyone that tells me different can f*ck off!

 

[Neofolis]

I don't have a problem with my kids walking themselves to school when they are older, but walking three of them is a pain in the arse. Apart from which, I go straight to work having dropped them off and my boss would be even less amused than he already is, if I'm half an hour later because after walking them to school, I then have to walk home to get my car to drive to work.

 

[Stu DemonD]

British Bulldogs was banned in my school

 

[Alex22]

Hmm, wonder how many steps that would be on his Walkers-o-meter, or whatever!!!

It would blow up i reckon

 

[nwmlarge]

mine too it made me sad

especially when we got to play the 1st years

 

[Koa]

I take my kids in the car most days as I have other places to go after i have taken them...I always park well away from the school though.. but sometimes i do walk and its a 50min walk there and back..
I do see/know a lot of people that only live 100 yards away from the school and they will drive there, and leave their cars on the ZigZags and double yellows of a really busy school lane.. I have seen kids knocked over from people doing this and it really p*****s me off because it can be avoided... Maybe the councils should invest in policing these areas to stop the kids getting hurt...
I mean it wouldn't take much for a traffic warden or cop to give out an instant fine for people parking on zigzags..they would only need to show their faces once or twice a week and the problem would stop..
If one of my kids was hurt because someone was parked where they shouldn't, then they could say goodbye to there precious motor cuz i would kick in every panel and window...
When i used to work in the town centre it would take me 45 minutes to travel 5 miles when the kids were in school, but only 10 minutes when its school holidays..

 

[HP]

In my opinion it's like this;

I bought my car, it's insured, it's taxed, it's mot'ed. I'll drive it wherever the f*ck I like whenever the f*ck I like. If I want to sit in traffic on the school run that's my business. Anyone that tells me different can f*ck off!

Nail hit squarely on head.

Also, there's no school bus for us. There's a big car park so we're off the road too, school isn't on a main road either.

One of the teachers actually said to my son "There is a cut through" - yeah, it saves about 3-5 minutes at most. Big deal.

I agree with the 100 yard drivers being idle as long as they don't have to do as Stuart would.

The empty roads on school holidays is also a lot to do with people taking time off work to look after their kids as well, mind. A lot of people's holidays are dictated by the school terms.

 

[GhostWKD]

theres people in my village who drive about 500 metres to take their kids to school, and stop in the middle of the road while they say their goodbyes and pass them their lunchbox etc (bearing in mind theres quite a few of them) blocks the entire road, and i cant get out of the village without driving said road, is madness (and they all drive huge 4x4's which at a guess, never get out of 3rd in the whole time of ownership by some of the people)