A Plea to Fellow Parents in the Drop Off Loop

Each morning I take my daughter to school and snake through the drop off line I’m amazed by the actions of my fellow parents and many times inconsiderate behavior. This of course is not every parent, there are those that follow the rules and are considerate of others. It is the others that amaze me. I guess of all places, a school, we would feel a kinship with the driver beside us, because we all know parenting and that darn drop off loop is not always fun.

The first offense that I witness everyday is a law breaking one. No matter how many tickets I see handed out day after day it doesn’t seem to stop some parents. As you drive up the street to the school on your right side is large plush grass that separates the road from the sidewalk. The sidewalk is quite a distance from the road which is great if your child rides their bike or walks to school. This sidewalk and grass line the road all the way up to the corner on which sits the school. Before you reach this corner is a access gate into the school. This is where your walkers and bike riders enter.

Often parents will want to skip the drop off loop and pull over onto the grass to let their children off. They then have to snake their way back into the line and then out of the line. This is illegal, you are not allowed to drop your child off on the side of the road. In fact a cop sits across the street to ticket those that do this. THIS however isn’t even the offense I’m upset about. What I am now seeing parents do is skipping the line all together and riding down the grass to get to the access gate. So let me draw you a picture of what I’m seeing.

Can you spot the danger? What makes me get upset? The cop does his best to speak to those he sees and tickets many but most of the time he doesn’t notice the car riding down the grass against the fence that separates the sidewalk. All I can think is one of these times a child is going to bolt out of a car on the side of the road (sometimes the parents don’t even pull over onto the grass) and he/she is going to be hit by the oncoming car that is riding down the grass.

My other frustration has to do more with consideration or lack of consideration for your fellow drivers. Are you ever merging onto the interstate to see the car in the lane you need to merge in just driving along not even considering moving over to the empty left lane so you can merge easily? This is what seems to happen at times in the drop off lane. There are two things that drive me crazy.

1. When snaking through the parking lot you finally reach the school. Teachers and volunteers stand out on the side of the curb to wave on the drivers. You are suppose to drive to furthest point in the loop before you stop to let your child out. If they have to walk back to get to a door then so be it. I can’t tell you how often I see drivers stopping and leaving a line of cars behind to wait for them to let their child out so they too can let out their child.

2. Now normally once you drop your child off you can merge into the lane to the left which is flowing traffic out of the school. What amazes me is you can put your blinker on, you can turn around in your seat so other drivers know you need to get into the lane to get out of the school and the parents ignore you. Even worse is when there is a break in the line and the person behind you jumps into the spot and continues on like you weren’t even trying to get out yourself. It amazes me that my fellow mothers and fathers are this inconsiderate.

So my plea to my fellow parents in the drop off loop. First off please consider the safety of all children, those walking, those getting out of cars. Nothing is more important then the safety of our children. Second take a few extra seconds to be considerate to the parents around you. We are all in the same boat. We all have some place to go whether it be work, drop off another child, back home, etc. Take a breathe enjoy your morning and don’t feel that where you have to go is any more important then the driver next to you.