Re: Whilst we're discussing the stereotypes ...

Children *should* walk

to school, or take a bus, or even a walking bus, presuming the > distance is reasonable. But how the f*ck do you get parents to agree > with that and not give them a lift each way?

Although I wholeheartedly agree with the sentiment, you must remember the culture we live in extends to violence on the streets even to teens ( especially). Many parents I suspect do the school run not only due to childs laziness but also to protect them from traffic and trouble on way to school.

Reply to
Hirsty's
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On the way into Salisbury from the West, there's a low bridge that has guide lines painted on the roads for large lorries as the bridge is an arch, if they drive between the lines the headroom is something like

14 feet. I've seen a few 4x4 drivers driving between those lines, which requires them to straddle the middle of the road during gaps in the oncoming traffic. Totally un-neccessary of course.

I've also seen a daft cow in a chelsea job blocking one lane of the local high street, shouting at drivers coming the other way because she seems to think her quite small 4x4 won't be able to fit down the street while other cars are coming in the opposite direction. She shouted "I've got right of way" at one point, didn't hear the rest. Needless to say the street is wide enough for two cars, I don't have trouble with the Landy even with vans coming in the other direction.

Reply to
Ian Rawlings

's'all part of the marketing/publishing hype: "get a 4x4, it's a big vehicle, you'll be safe". Then everyone thinks that it is big, and so won't go through the same space as the hatchback or estate they replaced with said 4x4. Years ago I got a shock myself when I parked the 109 next to a "new" Granada Ghia, and it was almost identically proportioned (except for the height)

Stuart

Reply to
Srtgray

Well, there is that but quite frankly this is taking it to the limits of absurdity, at the lowest point on the bridge there's something like

11 foot of clearance, and to get that little you'd have to drive on the pavement!

I've only seen two drivers do it, but then I rarely travel that route so either I was dead unlucky or it does happen a fair amount.

Yeah, my landy 110 is a few cm larger than the audi, and the pinz is about 10 inches longer still. I think the pinz is the narrowest of them all.

Reply to
Ian Rawlings

£25-£33 grand for that fat arse of a machine. What is wrong with the world. I'd give them £20 for it, begrudgingly. And that's twenty quid, not twenty grand.
Reply to
Ian Rawlings

Impressions of size can be very misleading. A Porsche 911 is 1.5" shorter than a 101FC and 2" wider, so the sports car actually takes up more space on the road than the 4x4.

Lizzy

Reply to
Lizzy Taylor

On estates this years "must have" seems to be Transits - perferably ones that really are worth £20.00

Richard

Reply to
beamendsltd

Hirsty's uttered summat worrerz funny about:

Indeed, and the fact that since many of us grew up schools have been halved pretty much due to closures and mergers doesn't help the walk to school merchants. Did you know to leave a child under 14 is classed as abandonment in England and Wales... so how do you send Johnny to school without committing an offence unless you walk them there? Or send them on the bus with there mates for that matter? I know, I know, but it's a fact.

Then theres more traffic than in the rose tinted days, and it appears more pervs, is it any wonder parents wish to make sure there kids get home. My Dad often recounts tales of places he went on his push bike , as in hundreds of miles, but to do the same today I doubt most insurance companies would entertain such a high risk activity given the levels of traffic, if indeed an option for such insurance existed.

Mrs_D does the school run in the 4x4 and I will defend her right to do so, I do the school run often in a seperate 4x4 too Should we have to buy a Micra to go to work now then in addition to our Landrover, add some more to Carbon Emmissions? The fact that on other occasions I walk there to collect the kids and more recently ride there on a bike will go un-noticed. Mrs_D works at the school so once she's finished work I'll either cadge a lift back with the kids, walk back if the weather is up to it, or leave the kids to come back in the car while I ride back.

As for rush-hour I'm glad I'm out of that completely.

It's all well and good if your school is local but a great many aren't.

Lee D

Reply to
Lee_D

However a 911 will fit in the carpark building at my work and even a SWB series won't as I discovered the hard way.

Reply to
EMB

hush now :)

I made it quite clear in my o/p that I was talking about the schools/roads in /my/ corner of suburbia. Not talking about the good and kindly folk in the rural idyll. I think we all know that the closure of schools has had a detremental impact, but here I am talking about schools surrounded by chimney pots, the catchment area is well within reasonable walking distance for anyone that can walk unaided.

btw: I also defend the right to drive ones kids to school. I'd just rather they didn't (on these suburban roads[1]) and if they positively have to then it would be a pleasant surprise to find the drivers have the necessary competence to command & control the vehicle.

[1] At 8:30 AM I'd guess it takes longer to get out of the drive and find a parking space than it takes to walk.
Reply to
William Tasso

No, you are lawfully compelled to guard the child (in the case of a daughter/son). However letting them walk to school or the shops is not tantamount to abandonment.

Largely due to parents driving their kids to school perhaps!

and it appears more

Well I don't know, I suspect that information technology coupled with media hype and the gutter press are largely responsible for the apparent increase in 'pervs'

is it any wonder parents wish to make sure there kids get home. My

I suspect lazyness of both the parent and the child is the main contributory factor today - many children seem very overweight and unfit and don't undertake any form of physical activity. (with the exception maybe of getting pregnant!) I guess running or swimming would not be classed as cewll today! My father walked 5 miles each day to school and left home at about 7 IIRC, I can run a 1/2 marathon at an age of 45 and seem to have at least twice the energy of people who I work with who are half my age.

Parents are free to make a choice regarding their kid's transport, but I'm afraid the current behaviour of many of them is damaging their health.

Julian.

Reply to
Julian

The increase in the number of pervs may also be down to the changing idea of what a perv is! My mum said that when she was a kid her family had an uncle in it who used to grope the kids, the family knew but ignored it, and she used to lock herself in a car when he was around! This was quite shocking to me but it was apparently quite commonplace for people of that era to get away with such things because people just pretended it wasn't going on. Similarly domestic violence, which is still often ignored today but not as much as it was.

Reply to
Ian Rawlings

If you recall? I doubt it :)

yebut, isn't that good for the country? We're constantly being told that life expectancy is now so long it's not economically sustainable. Surely the trick is to ensure the wee beggers expire the day they become unproductive? at around what? say sometime in the early 50s, maybe earlier

Reply to
William Tasso

I'll bet it is with a good lawyer! And Lee is in a position to know.

Reply to
beamendsltd

He used to tell me about it often enough!

Well I want them to work in the call centres and service industry (no proper manufacturing industry left now to help the trade deficit!) for as long as possible, they've hopefully got my pension to provide for!

Reply to
Julian

Given that most of the cases in court (or at least in the papers) seem to relate to activities that happened many years ago, is this true?

Reply to
Srtgray

I employed a lad at work who you could only see move if you were very patient and had a fixed point to check against. My father, operating at

25% of normal lung capacity ran rings round him.

Steve

Reply to
steve Taylor

yeah, its all down to the height of the 101 making it look so big. They are a lot shorter than most cars (and range rovers)

Reply to
Tom Woods

On or around Thu, 23 Nov 2006 09:03:38 -0000, "William Tasso" enlightened us thusly:

mind you, you can observe this trend in nissan micra drivers, with even less reason.

Reply to
Austin Shackles

|| Impressions of size can be very misleading

Absolutely.

Reply to
Richard Brookman

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