Traffic lines at schools
Categories: Education
Ever since my son has been in elementary school, I have been shocked at how parents behave and drive in the school line. When he was in elementary school, there was a line of parents down the street in front of the school, slowly crawling around the circle drive to pick up the children. There was always an obnoxious parent or two would would come up the left side of the line and try to cut to the front. I never understood why other parents would politely let them in the line, while the rest of us followed the rules and waited our turn patiently.Now that my son is older, there isn't as much traffic because kids are involved in band, athletics, and other after-school activities. However, I have noticed it still occurring in the morning traffic. There always seems to be a group of parents who are too busy and too important to wait in the line, so they pull up alongside the other cars and drop their child off for them to walk in front of all the cars to the school. The parent wouldn't know if they made it in safely because they are screeching away in the parking lot.
Is this problem universal? Road rage and bad drivers seem to be everywhere, so I am sure there are traffic problems in various schools as well. It seems like these parents are teaching their children the negative lesson that they deserve to go to the front of the line. Doesn't that just encourage rude behavior when they become adults?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Sister Honey Bunch 2-05-2008 @ 11:36AM
It is universal. Nothing makes me angrier than those rude parents who are more important than anybody else. I just can't stand it.
I am a working mom, but I have Thursdays off. My son rides the bus to school and then I pick him up from the after school program. Except on Thursdays when I pick him up with all of the other parents.
I get in line and wait my turn. Only to be cut off by the always-in-a-hurry parents who zoom up the left side and cut in. They know what they're doing too.
When I'm driving to work, I pass the middle school and it's the same there. Parents flying out of the parking lot in front of oncoming traffic because they're going to be late. It's just so rude.
Can you tell you hit one of my hot buttons?
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Nicola 2-05-2008 @ 11:58AM
I'll add my take on the school pick up and drop off line. I don't use it. What a freaking waste of gas, time, and resources. We are supposed to be doing our part, each of us, and yet we sit and idle our cars, inching forward a bit at a time, to do the same thing that parking, walking up and taking the child's hand, then walking back to the car could accomplish in a matter of moments?! Without wasting a gallon of gas and polluting our local air supply. I have been accused of being "pushy" or "not wanting to wait my turn". No! I think about my actions. I think about the most efficient and responsible way to carry out a task. The best, easiest, and most efficient way of picking up or dropping my son off at school is to park, walk, and return to the car. Done. No line at all. Just as another idea...
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Heather 2-05-2008 @ 1:06PM
If kids are not close enough to walk to school the should be on a school bus. If they are to close for the school bus make them walk. They get excersize, fresh air and less cars.
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mj12 2-05-2008 @ 1:56PM
I have been involved at 2 schools and have never had to worry about this.
The first school was in a city that had strict, and aggresively enforsed, bi-laws that forbit cars be stopped (idilling or turned off) within 100 meters of a school driveway. The only cars allowed in the parking lot were staff and busses. Everyone parked down the street and walked up to greet their children. Most people that I knew actually pooled with other parents they knew and traded off pick ups and drop offs so there weren't as many cars there in the first place.
The second school is in a small community and there is a public parking lot that all the parents park in and get out and walk to greet their children. There are no bi-laws but it's just what we all do.
Heather - one thing to keep in mind is that (here at least) children can start junior kindergarten as young as 3, Unless you live really close walking with a 3 year old everyday, especially in our wintery climite is simply not an option. Plus if we bussed all the children that would have to walk say more than say 6 blocks our taxes would increase quite a bit.
I now let my 7 year old walk with some older kids, who get a small fee for putting up with her. But next fall my youngest will start Junior Kindergarten at the age of 3. She will not be allowed to walk with older kids until she is about 6 depending on her maturity. Until then my husband will drive her on his way to work.
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isisaquaria 2-05-2008 @ 2:38PM
We don't have this problem. We do not have buses for the elem, just middle school and high school. I pick both of them up after school--but I must wait until buses leave from the MS or HS. No car can pull into the lot until the buses are gone.
@ the elem, the kids come out by class--and you are given a time to be there and stickers for the windows-get there early, you will be waved on. There is no point in walking the child out, because they can not leave until the whole class leaves.
If you have more than one child, the school will shuffle all the kids together in the last possible line.
If you need to pick up the child early, you must be there 30min b4 school releases, call and the child will be waiting in the ofc ready to go.
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Eva 2-05-2008 @ 4:11PM
That's always been a problem in my area and in the schools where I went to growing up. Too many cars, too.
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Bethany 2-05-2008 @ 7:12PM
I like Nicola's idea. Get there early enough to park your car and either walk your child, or let them walk from a safe place. There is a highschool on my way to work and traffic backs up for a mile because of the parents dropping their kids off. There is a decent sized parking lot right acrossed the street that always has empty space, yet parents insist on either blocking traffic by sitting in the traffic line, or worse yet, stop in the middle of the street to let their kids out.
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Kathy 2-06-2008 @ 1:24AM
Wow. There are still school districts that have enough money for buses? Our California district stopped providing bus service about 25 years ago, so our car lines are insane. We're constantly writing newsletter articles about car line etiquette, and there's even a PTA chair that puts up signs and gets volunteers to direct traffic. I wish we had buses!!!
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ninainindia 2-06-2008 @ 7:40AM
I used to live in the street of an elementary school and each day I saw dangerous situations because all parents need to drop off their kids by car.
In NL distances to elementary school are small most of the time and when I was young everyone came by bicycle or by feet. Why hardly anyone does that nowadays is unbelievable. It is so bad for the environment too.
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isisaquaria 2-06-2008 @ 9:38AM
I didn't walk or ride a bike, due to distance--but so many do not today because of the danger. My sister lives in TX in a town where all three schools (elem, mid, and high) are all on one block. She lives where she can walk her child to school--and even that close, they have had attempted abductions-and 15 registered sex offenders in the town. I would not allow my kids to walk to school.