Confidential - All Comments

re: School run fun

Rich boy spanners — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 08:20:12 GMT

Children go to school by car more often than when the world was in black and white for a number of reasons... One, both parents have to work to now to pay the mortgage on their over-priced house, so they get dropped off on the way to work. Secondly, all those one in a car commuters who moan the school run, otherwise known as the millions of rat-running hypocrites who think their journey is more valid than those doing the school run, have made the roads too unsafe and congested for children to cycle to school, or as they drive along pavements to avoid waiting for a vehicle to turn. They could of course cycle on the pavement, but they can't get past the cars parked on them and cleaning off all the pavement deposited dog poo from their bikes/shoes soon gets tiresome.

re: School run fun

Los Angeles — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 23:45:07 GMT

"'little island called England', better get your tin hat on petrolheadinrussia" Boris911

More to the point: from where in the Mother Russia is he posting? It is 03.44 in Moscow now, yet up he pops 9am to 11pm UK time. There's a Moscow in Ayrshire but his Little England dirge and his timing suggest East Wapping, London.

re: School run fun

The Colonel — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 11:39:21 GMT

My daughter walks to and from school, mostly. She can take a bus but prefers not to, and only very rarely is she collected by my wife or me. It's about two miles, she walks with a couple of friends. She goes off at 6.45 (school day starts at 7.30), and their journey involves crossing two eight lane roads, on traffic lights.

Many parents do drop off and pick up their children though. It's not so bad in the morning, as they arrive at intervals, but the end of the day it is just bedlam. 1500, or so, keen monsters running out of the gates. Cars, scooters, bikes all over the place. School buses, and innocent passers by make for a fun 20 minutes or so.

I can't even recal a time I went to school in a car.

re: School run fun

Boris911 — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 21:43:05 GMT

'little island called England', better get your tin hat on petrolheadinrussia, I can hear all the Scots, Irish and Welsh frothing at their keyboards :)

re: School run fun

petrolheadinrussia — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 18:38:57 GMT

Meanwhile - as a kid we lived in the country near Harrogate. I wanted a racing bike (pedal one with umpteen gears) Pap said sure - but you will ride to school and back and save the bus fare!! It was 16 miles to school in Ripon, and I got the bike !! Loved it, rain hail blow or snow. Kids today are spoilt rotten in the name of safety. What are we protecting them from? Reality?

re: School run fun

petrolheadinrussia — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 18:33:20 GMT

"unwell visitors and healthcare professionals" you mean sick and doctors? Isnt all this political correctness getting a bit too deep. Living overseas for so long I am begining to feel like a bloody foreigner - and might have some consternation if I travel to the little island called England, as I fear I will be unable to understand all this gobbldegook

re: School run fun

Boris911 — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 18:22:31 GMT

I can see the school bus pick up the children from by looking out my house, its that close. My neighbour across the street, gets in her car every morning and drives her daughter round to the bus stop, and then comes back home. The daughter is about 7yrs old, and both the daughter and the 'hippo' are overweight. No exaggeration but I can bicycle to the school bus stop quicker than it takes her to reverse out her garage and pull up behind the bus! And this inside a gated community so theres no issues about child abductions from passing creeps etc. As 'Tater Salad' says, "you can't fix stupid".

re: School run fun

Firebobby2 — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 15:54:56 GMT

I've seen a neighbour take their child to school and park further away than they actually live!! Excuse? well I have to go that way to work anyway!!!!

re: School run fun

Peter Cavellini — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 15:12:07 GMT

Some kids are too lazy to walk,get up or do stuff for themselves,we,the parents are mostly ready because we've done it for yonks,because we pick and choose which School we send them too nowadays is mostly the reason we have to drive them, put them on public transport i hear you say,no, i just wouldn't, have you seen what travels on them nowadays?,that's the other thing, safety,we are pre-occupied with this, it's another reason we take them too School, plus, some kids just don't want to be at School,so we take them just to make sure they go.Transporting my posse doesn't bother me, maybe because i don't live in the city so my journeys are short in distance and time,but as most have said it's the muppets who make up there own driving rules that make these travel times so tedious, you know who you are.

re: School run fun

feckin maso — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 11:46:28 GMT

Not a problem down our way, we had to get a ferry then a bus. Ferry too expensive to be realistic every day, if it was foggy we got a day off :)

re: School run fun

Corbs — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 10:17:13 GMT

Yup like most 50 year old I made my own way to both Primary and Secondary schools, it's bloody rediculous these days. How much clearer are the roads during school holidays, and they move better, but I won't go into the reason for that......

One funny story, when I was waiting for the bus one morning in the rain, the Headmaster came along in this Cambridge Estate (!), and stopped for me. As I was about to get in (as you do) there was big bang and the car disappeared up the road and a bent steaming old Jag was in front of me now !!!! Then the bus turned up, and yup I got on.......

re: School run fun

TegTypeR — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 08:24:21 GMT

Where do you want to start!! lol

With my little one arriving recently and my good lady being unable to drive for six weeks, we decided that I should drive and stay in the car with littleun whilst our five year old is taken in to class by mum. This has allowed me plenty of time to study the driving habits of the average SRP.

I even started naming them (in my head of course)... There's PM (pushy mum) who drives a Mazda6, A Class Accident (a Merc driven by a woman who will crash her car one day soon!), Orlando Grandad (miserable old git who won't give way) and many more...

Like you the school run has to be done by car for me although most of the parents at the school don't need to worry as they live in the village the schools is in! That doesn't stop the car park being rammed full in the morning though.

Fortunately I think there are only a couple of 4x4's, the majority of cars being of the more normal nature. That doesn't stop the arguments and pushing though. I am not sure it is just the morning fug for some people but there really is a lack of consideration and forethought. Cars blocked in, entrances and exits obstructed.

My conclusions, there should be one of those mobile DSA vehicles parked near by filming the scrum and each regularly poorly driven vehicle should get a little note sent to its owner suggesting some sort of re-education. ;-))

re: School run fun

kraftwerk — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 01:41:13 GMT

People who can't drive, ferrying kids who can't speak to schools that can't teach. Ban school and the problem would disappear instantly.

re: School run fun

James Ruppert — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 00:51:14 GMT

Hello Everyone, My nipper's journey is 7 miles of very rural roads, single track mostly and no public or private bus does it. Though I am in a complicated share with other parents so that we do spread out the lifts both there and back. And yes I do use a Land Rover Series 3 which I think is a brilliant use of resources.

re: School run fun

Liammm — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 23:47:35 GMT

It amazes me that so many people get driven top school now. Ten years ago when I was 6, I walked the 1 km to primary school whatever the weather - sun, snow or rain. Now everyone gets driven even on sunny days!

I now get the bus to high school as its 10 miles away. It amazes me how many people disregard the signs and park at the bus stop, and then moan because all the buses have trapped them in! Utterly unbelievable! What also really annoys me is when people get driven to the bus stop... But don't get me started on that...

I'm guessing your son is the same age as me, but how far is the school? I'm happy enough to cycle the 10 miles once in a blue moon to school - even though I can take a bus. Its very refreshing and really wakes me up before school in the morning! However many folk I know will refuse to cycle even a mile...