Walking my grandkid to/from school, it absolutely floors me how many dangerous drivers there are around kids.
In a matter of maybe 10 minutes, I’ve witnessed:
- at least a dozen cars illegal parked. It’s not the parking that bothers me, but the fact that these cars are often parked on turns or just before intersections, making it impossible for other drivers to see small kids.
- Several people not stopping at stop signs, including at the exit of the school parking lot.
- One car, who completely blew through a stop sign at the front of the school, made a left turn and nearly hit a guy walking his kid. The driver didn’t even slow down.
- Super fucking huge pickup trucks parked in the school parking lot, but their long ass hangs well over the sidewalk near the kindergarden area, leaving very little space to use the sidewalk.
- Speeding. Obviously, you have to have speeding in school zones, right?
This happens every day, during drop off and pick up. I was told that bylaw were “cracking down”, but no, they aren’t. If they were, our municipality would generate $5000 in fines each and every day at every school.
The other day, I rode my bike past another school as kids were getting out. Not only was their massive parking lot completely full, but they had blocked the bike trail (WITH PYLONS) to make space for more cars. Then as I entered onto the road, cars were illegally parked along the road and on a bridge for a like 100m. Making it extremely difficult and dangerous to cross because they blocked visibility for me and other drivers on the road.
I asked the cross guard if these students all lived out of town, requiring every parent to drive them home; he obviously didn’t get my joke.
Seriously, fuck cars. All of them!
Another almost guaranteed way of converting someone to the fuck cars mentality, ride a bike on the road and around traffic.
In relation to your post in the past I have worked as a parking CEO (civil enforcement officer - modern name for traffic warden)
We had to do school watches every day, covering different schools within our area and issuing fines to people that try to stop / park in areas around schools, particularly the yellow zig zags directly at the exits of the school.
The amount of abuse you got every time you were near a school, these idiots don’t seem to realise you are there to try and enforce rules that help keep their children safe as well as others. Parents are some of the most entitled pieces of shit, especially around schools.
Like you say as well, most of these fucks driving to pick up their little shits live less than 5 minutes by car from the school.
Fuck them and their cars!
I know people who DRIVE to the school 2 blocks away from their home! It is just baffling to me! Okay let’s say you just have to helicopter and go pick them up, you still have to DRIVE?! Just walk over! “Oh well it rains” _umbrella “but in winter” coats. Ffs it’s two blocks.
I don’t know anyone who drives two blocks to pick up their kids because I stopped hanging out with losers.
Most people ive met who are quite resistant to change refuse to even ride a bike, sometimes sayings things like “it isn’t safe” but won’t really acknowledge that it being unsafe is the exact points we are trying to make and fix.