UKC

Down the road from us is a school outside of which there are double yellow lines on the road.

Without fail, there will be at least two vehicles - often minus the occupants so we're not talking about stopping for a few seconds - stopped on the yellow lines. Do these people think that they are exempt from parking restriction?

Some of them put their hazard lights on and I'm convinced that if questioned about parking on a double yellow they would say "I've put my hazard lights on" in the belief that it gives them licence to park illegally.

Rant over.

In reply to FesteringSore:

Local schools have invited coppers around to chat with motorists doing similar. It's proved quite costly for the motorists in question, I believe.

In reply to lummox:


Well that's encouraging. Is double yellow parking a police thing or local authority?

In reply to FesteringSore:


Yes, apparently they do. Perhaps they think that picking up their kids is sufficient reason to be exempted.

In reply to FesteringSore:

It's been pissing me off a bit lately too. Cycling to work down Stretford Road, there's this guy who, every day, stops to unload stuff on a double yellow line with a clear 'no loading' restriction within a cycle lane, so I have to weave my way into the car traffic which is going past, and therefore holding them up and frustrating the rush hour drivers, all because he can't be bothered to park in the side street which is all of 20m away from the entrance to the building he's going in.

In reply to abseil:


Err, it is.

http://www.drivingtesttips.biz/double-yellow-lines.html

In reply to Oceanrower:


Pretty sure you have to stay in the vehicle, if you leave the vehicle you're parking not stopping.

Edit - Yep:

You may stop to load or unload (unless there are also loading restrictions as described below) or while passengers board or alight.

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/the-highway-code/road-markings

In reply to RyanOsborne:

Isn't that what I said?

"Down the road from us is a school outside of which there are double yellow lines on the road... Do these people think that they are exempt from parking restriction?...

Perhaps they think that picking up their kids is sufficient reason to be exempted.

Err, it is."

In reply to FesteringSore:

school the ex's kids go to is a new build (opened in April this year if I remember right) and is pretty much at the end of a long cul-de-sac that's narrow. Unsurprisingly there's been a lof near misses there due to double parking and people driving like idiots (as well as obviously kids running out in front without looking, but we all should be aware of that near schools and drive appropriately). It's all no parking down there but there's dozens of cars there in the morning.

Police were asked to show a presence. They sent a PSO who turned up at 10 am when they'd all gone and reported there were no problems at the school..

<sigh>

In reply to Oceanrower:




I think the important bit that Festeringsore said is that people are leaving their cars (which is usual outside schools where parents want to go stand in the playground to wait for their kid or whatever), and leaving the car means it no longer counts as 'stopping while passenger board or alight'.

In reply to FesteringSore:
Saw a documentary last year where one parent on film justified their double parking at a school entrance on the basis of it was safer for "their" children. They ignored the question/comments about safety for all school children and illegal parking. The same person also justified driving (happened to be a large 4x4) the quarter mile or so to the school to double park as it was safer for "their" children saying it was too dangerous due to traffic to allow the children to walk. They blamed the LA for not providing adequate parking and drop off zones.

Go figure that logic.

In reply to Oceanrower:


Motorists that briefly stop on double yellow lines to pick up or drop off passengers are permitted providing no stopping restrictions are in force.

Don't know about schools near you, but a lot of the double-yellow-c**t brigade around here get out of there car, walk to the gates, look for their children, gab on with other parents etc. That is not covered by the exemption you cite.

In reply to FesteringSore:

There's a difference between double yellows and the yellow zig zags outside schools which are no stopping. School down the road from us has occasional police cameras recording ( and prosecuting) offenders. Ordinary double yellows are enforced by local authority these days.

In reply to Climbing Pieman:


i can actually a little bit understand the arguement that the LA should provide parking/drop off zones.

Rather with new build schools there should be a proper look in to whether the site is suitable for the inevitable traffic (even if the parents live locally they may be coming straight from work (or going straight to work). doens't seem to evident from local examples but that might be the exception to be fair.

For existing sites where it's not a major road I don't see why the school can't be given permission to close the road for an hour in the morning and one in the evening and put cones out or something similar too.


(not defending the bad parkers, just mentioning the school or LA should be taking some responsibility for not preventing them from doing it)

In reply to Climbing Pieman:


My kids go to a village primary school, ours is about the further house in the village from the school - now my kids were keen to cycle to/from school so I went with them, had to cycle up the main road through the village and turn right into the school road access - deary me - due to the amount of idiotic drivers / cars abandoned etc. my kids generally now get driven to/from school as its way safer. I cycle commute most days to work and wouldn't want to do the school commute, never mind get my kids to do it. Peoples attitude to short journeys needs to change before cycling becomes a suitable alternative.

The school have also just recently knocked down the cycle shelters, apparently my kids had been the only ones to have used it for the storage of bicycles in years, hardly going to encourage more kids to cycle is it.

In reply to Scarab9:


Hmm, I'm sure all the people driving through the village would be even more pleased with them closing the road for an hour! how would that work?

In reply to FesteringSore:

A bylaw was required to put zigzags outside our village school. With only a very small number of pupils it is generally enforced by 'peer pressure' but with two consistent and stubborn repeat offenders. A recent enforcement notice (£60 fine) was greeted by "well it only works out at £10 per year to drop my children off safely". Not much you can say to that really.

In reply to Scarab9:
I agree with you - it's a lot more complex and LA's need to be involved. New schools should be well planned for before they are built.

Still it's a bit surprising the attitude of parent's blinkered approach and 'refusing' to see the wider issue.

In reply to Pids:
I sympathise with you. It will not be the last school to remove the bike shelters.

In reply to ceri:


I wasn't suggesting it for a through route or in a village. It was one thought that for example would work excellently at the school near where maybe work that is a cluster f*** every morning and has no necessary through traffic.

My main point being more that creative solutions could be tried but it seems simply saying "nothing we can do!" is the best that happens.

And again in no way defending the people who make it a nightmare. Selfish bastards.

In reply to Pids:



That all sounds a bit rubbish. By contrast, our local secondary school, which has quite a wide catchment area, has recently started bike trains, which have a couple of responsible adults topping and tailing the children on their bikes. It does help that they're able to go on a back road which isn't too busy, and that generally round here, drivers are very good at accommodating cyclists. The take-up has been reasonable, although it remains to be seen how it goes over the winter months.

In reply to FesteringSore:

The school where I help with DofE allows parents to drive onto the school property, and through the car park to drop their kids off, causing mayhem.

The entrance gates are no more than 30m from the entrance to the school building.
The road outside the school is long and straight, and goes nowhere other than to the school (it's a cul-de-sac with a turning circle at the end).

Why the feck the dumb parents can't simply drop their kids on the road outside and let them waddle the few metres through the school gates, I have no idea.

And also why the school don't ban parents from driving on school premises; I'm sure the ensuing chaos will end in tears one day.

In reply to FesteringSore:

I live next to a school. Mayhem. We park elsewhere, sick of the car getting bashed. Pick up starts about 2pm as grannies turn up to get the best parking spots etc, etc, etc.

But the school was there before we bought the house, so what do I have to moan about.

In reply to Climbing Pieman:

I wonder what the actual statistics say.

Are more people injured walking along the pavement than driving in cars?

In reply to DancingOnRock:


Yes that would be interesting; I haven't seen figures.

In reply to FesteringSore:

Swansea parking enforcement people have a car with cameras all over it. Any cars illegally parked automatically get a ticket. It's not ideal because discretion is sometimes required but one car can cover a massive range.