The irony of School Zones

Oh dear! we are stuck behind another bus, how did that happen? There is something a bit different about this one though, do you notice the sign displayed in its back window? That tells us this is a school bus, so it could be making frequent stops in places that aren’t regular bus stops. In this instance it is also leading us toward a school zone. Most school zones are 20mph zones these days so be prepared to slow down.

When the school run is at its peak there will be lots of vehicles parked on the road outside the school creating lots of hazardous blind spots where children could run out unseen until too late unless you're on the ball. Nearer to the school entrance you will please notice the angry looking yellow zigzags guarding the road. The purpose of these road markings is to forbid anyone from parking too close to the school entrance and blocking other drivers lines-of-sight at this critical juncture. Also visa-versa, blocking children’s lines-of-sight from oncoming cars. You wouldn’t believe what happens in The Demon Road: A Theory Test Novel when a school run mum does exactly this and parks her 4x4 on the yellow hatch markings of a school entrance, you just have to buy it to see what happens...

This scenario happens too often and is one of life’s little ironies as parents create one of the very hazards they seek to protect their children against. These hatch markings are one of many parking restricted area's due to the hazard your parked vehicle would cause. Next time, a check list of all these restrictions (sponsored by the public transport system)