N/A - School Run Traffic

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Mon 12 Oct 2015 14:43
N/A - School Run Traffic - RaineMan

School Run Traffic I have been giving a friend a lift to work once a week since the council cut their support for local bus services resulting in reduced services. Fortunately this is the only day they have this particular start time (walking or cycling is not an option as they are waiting for a replacement knee). It means going in the opposite direction that I am usually headed in. During the summer it was not to bad adding only about 20 minutes to my journey along fairly empty roads. However since the schools started it can add up to 50 minutes! Besides the volume of traffic a lot of the issues seemed to be caused by totally inconsiderate parents ignoring the rules of the road - often parking in dangerous positions. And why do strapping sixth formers have to be dropped at the school gate - I used a sports moped (Honda SS50) paid for by a weekend job).

I was wondering if there were any figures for the increase in traffic during the school run times?

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Mon 12 Oct 2015 17:25
N/A - School Run Traffic - Bolt

My daughter has similar journey through Bromley to work 7 mile, and has the same problem, during schools out in summer, it takes on average 15/20 minutes,

when schools are back, up to 1 hour, usually because a large motor stops in the middle of road to drop the child off every 20yards or so....Very kind of them.

I dont know the figures but its a lot more than I like to see on the road

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Mon 12 Oct 2015 17:57
N/A - School Run Traffic - gordonbennet

So many reasons, which range from bone idleness through to the hyped hysteria that almost every middle aged man is a potential child molester until declared innocent by kangaroo court.

The roads are so much better when the schools are off.

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Mon 12 Oct 2015 19:00
N/A - School Run Traffic - galileo

So many reasons, which range from bone idleness through to the hyped hysteria that almost every middle aged man is a potential child molester until declared innocent by kangaroo court.

The roads are so much better when the schools are off.

A straw poll on a UK truck drivers' website voted school run mums as among the worst road users (along with cyclists).

I'm keeping my opinion to myself.

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Mon 12 Oct 2015 21:10
N/A - School Run Traffic - Bolt

voted school run mums as among the worst road users (along with cyclists).

I agree with that, with mums and cyclists together on the road its a nightmare.

And as for the advert drivers must look out for cyclists, I presume that means not the other way round as most do not look out for motors

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Wed 14 Oct 2015 22:53
N/A - School Run Traffic - Sofa Spud

A straw poll on a UK truck drivers' website voted school run mums as among the worst road users (along with cyclists).

Boy racers, serious petrolheads and crazy superbikers are also among the worst road users too.

Edited by Sofa Spud on 14/10/2015 at 22:53

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Mon 12 Oct 2015 19:28
N/A - School Run Traffic - Engineer Andy

So many reasons, which range from bone idleness through to the hyped hysteria that almost every middle aged man is a potential child molester until declared innocent by kangaroo court.

The roads are so much better when the schools are off.

Indeed - I remember just after I bought my first car in 1998 that I was travelling from my parents' house in south Hertfordshire to Woodside Park (North London near Barnet) for work - both the trip via public transport (before I bought the car - bus and a couple of stops on the Tube) and via car more than doubled in time when the schools were 'in' - the journey (shortest by car at about 7.5 miles) took 15 mins when the schools were 'out' (holidays) and 35 mins when 'in'.

Most of the journey was spent in a jam at one junction, full of 'mummys' in their Chelsea Tractors taking their little Johnny and Jilly to the local prep schools etc in nearby Mill Hill. For the sake of paying a bit of money (which I doubt they weren't short of, given the cars they owned) to hire a few school buses/coaches, the roads in the area would be clear.

I suppose I was greatful for the car, though, as the bus/tube journey was normally about an hour on a 'good' day (schools out, bus on time/not full with school kids, Tube ok [that happened a lot - NOT!]). definitely grateful for the extra time in bed in the morning!

Edited by Engineer Andy on 12/10/2015 at 19:30

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Mon 12 Oct 2015 19:35
N/A - School Run Traffic - Engineer Andy

School Run Traffic I have been giving a friend a lift to work once a week since the council cut their support for local bus services resulting in reduced services. Fortunately this is the only day they have this particular start time (walking or cycling is not an option as they are waiting for a replacement knee). It means going in the opposite direction that I am usually headed in. During the summer it was not to bad adding only about 20 minutes to my journey along fairly empty roads. However since the schools started it can add up to 50 minutes! Besides the volume of traffic a lot of the issues seemed to be caused by totally inconsiderate parents ignoring the rules of the road - often parking in dangerous positions. And why do strapping sixth formers have to be dropped at the school gate - I used a sports moped (Honda SS50) paid for by a weekend job).

I was wondering if there were any figures for the increase in traffic during the school run times?

I would say, like with (supposedly impoverished) university students, many sixth-formers now have cars from as soon as they can after turning 17 and passing their test. I can remember only two people in my sixth form (1990-92) who had their own car and drove it to school - even with part-time/summer jobs I could afford a decent one as well as my driving lessons. As you say, the only option for most people (if they felt safe enough doing so [I chickened out]) was a moped.

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Thu 15 Oct 2015 10:45
N/A - School Run Traffic - MTD
I live on a road with a primary school (that my eldest attends ) that is also one road off a notorious local traffic black spot. On rainy term time days, it can take me 20 mins to get out of my own drive !

My own beef with school run traffic isn't that they are on the road (it's their right, cars are legally owned etc) but it's with the general level of driving competency, particularly with regard to width perception to some drivers. A lot of these drivers, and 95% seem to be mums, just cannot manoeuvre their vehicle through gaps less than 4m wide and often just block the middle of the road with helpless expressions . Usually I will be able to weave my Astra through only slowing down to 2nd gear.

It is not only SUV users that seem to have this problem, some small car users also act as mobile chicanes and not be able to pull into perfectly large gaps, or move over to let two cars pass. Many suburban roads are not wide enough to have two cars pass at once with cars parked on both sides so there will always be some little bottlenecks and tight manouvering - but there are usually enough gaps that a one in one out method would not really slow people down or be unsafe providing people didnt just sit in the middle of the road.

Edited by MTD on 15/10/2015 at 10:53

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Thu 15 Oct 2015 12:23
N/A - School Run Traffic - daveyjp

My daughter's school is on a cul de sac, but does have a community car park for 60-70 cars adjacent. When there were 170 children at the school it was adequate - in fact most parents walked to school and the car park was hardly used. 6 years later the school now has 450 pupils and you can imagine the fun and games at drop off and pick up - pick up being a real free for all.

The latest just last week was one parent driving into a parked car, getting out, looking at the damage and driving off. Not a good idea when there are parents around. This resulted in a visit from the police to the guilty party.

Our drop off is usually part of a daily commute for one of us so we now park well away from the cul de sac, walk the last 200m or so and leave the car park to those who enjoy a daily battle.

The issue now is parents who think parking on the brow of a hill adjacent to a junction leading onto the cul de sac is fully in line with the Highway Code.

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