The school run

Ah, the journey to and from school.  That haven of peace and quiet in an otherwise hectic life, when parent and child stroll hand in hand, happily discussing the day, chatting to other parents and children and listening to the birds singing.

In a parallel universe maybe - in this real world the school run is more like Armageddon on a daily basis, a battle for survival dodging the unswerving SUVs and MPVs as they hurtle down the road searching for the closest place to park outside the school gates.

Yes, I too read the list of the biggest bugbears of the school run, and unsurprisingly top was inconsiderate parking around schools.

Now I will confess it's been several years since I consulted my copy of the Highway Code - I'm thinking it was before my driving test, and as I passed that before the A14 was even fully opened, that will give you some idea of how long it's been.

But I can remember quite clearly what the yellow zig-zag lines outside schools are for - nobody should park there, because that's where children and their parents cross.  To park there would severely restrict visibility and could cause a serious accident.

Sadly, however, there are some selfish people which think it means 'If I'm running late or if it's raining it doesn't matter if I park here because those rules don't apply to me.'

A recent example I spotted - not only were there zig-zag lines clearly painted outside a primary school, the staff had come out and put Police 'no parking' yellow cones, to highlight the fact there should be no parking.

Imagine my surprise then to see a parent pull up - just after 9am - and park on the zig-zag lines, right next to a no parking traffic cone, to unload their children. 

Before anyone leaps to a stereotype and assumes it was a woman driving a 4x4, it wasn't - it was a man driving a high-performance sports car.  I'll make no further comment!