Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Abusive North Harringay parent: shouting at cyclist and parking illegally
Regular poster here. Have name changed for security reasons.
I was cycling along Falkland Rd this morning just before 9am, leaving enough room between myself and the line of parked cars on the left so that if someone opened a car door I wouldn’t get knocked over. (Before someone comes on this thread and castigates me for selfishness, this is the way cyclists are supposed to position themselves safely on a road where there are parked cars and the risk of getting ‘doored’. It’s how I was taught by the council-approved cycle trainers, and is completely legal.)
When there was a break in the parked cars I pulled over to the left to let the few cars behind me go overtake me. One of the drivers pulled up alongside me, leaned over the passenger seat, and proceeded to shout abuse: I shouldn’t be on the road, I should be on the footpath (!), how dare I make him late etc. I told him that I had exactly the same right to be on the road as a car. He sped off and I saw him park up outside North Harringay Primary to drop his daughter off, illegally parking on the yellow lines.
I got a picture of his registration plate and the fact he was parked on yellow lines. When he came back to his car and saw I had taken his picture I got another earful of abuse before he sped off. If anyone feels they may know this man then I’d like to know his details. Motorists who genuinely believe that cyclists don’t have the right to be on the road put all cyclists in danger, and those who park illegally outside schools precisely where they’re not supposed to put children in danger as well.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Sarah on
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His poor daughter. What kind of example is he setting?
Stories like this put me right off cycling. I had been thinking I would like to start, if I can persuade Homes for Haringey to install a bike hangar where I live.
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Permalink Reply by Morris Mustard on
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I walk, drive, cycle & motorcycle. I slow down for horses etc. Clearly this driver is dangerous & needs to change his attitude.
However, the picking-up and/or dropping-off of a passenger (known as boarding & alighting) are almost certainly not breaches of the law. Up to 2 minutes will be allowed by a parking adjudicator as there will be an exemption in the Traffic Management Order, and longer will be allowed if the person is disabled, blind or elderly (& they need time to get into their destination) or young i.e you can't safely leave a 3 year old to toddle into an adjoining building. See http://www.drivingtesttips.biz/double-yellow-lines.html
Don't drop off passengers on a red route though as that is trouble, as the red lines mean no stopping, as opposed to no waiting which is what a yellow line tells you. (Parking is waiting, very technical this parking stuff).
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These are yellow zig zagged area outside a school entrance...no stopping or alighting allowed
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Agreed, stay away from yellow zig-zags which may also have a single yellow line which applies at different times. The original post does not say which type of yellow line the rotten driver was on.
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Permalink Reply by Michael Anderson on
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Surely it doesn't matter if there are lines of any kind outside a school entrance, common sense should tell you that stopping isn't a terribly good idea. The yellow/zig-zag lines are there just to enforce a rule that any good driver with an ounce of grey matter would adhere to anyway.
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Permalink Reply by CK on
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I actually have a photo of the driver's face, which I inadvertently captured as I was taking the photo of the number plate. If any North Harringay parent is interested in helping me identify him, drop me a connection request ...
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Serious question - what are you going to do should you identify this individual?
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The school wants to know who he is, because then they can speak to him.
The head teacher at my child's school is very clear with parents about the need for courteous behaviour when dropping off/picking up in relation to local residents. If this happened at our school, she would certainly want to know who the offender was in order to make sure they never did it again.
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Are you saying that the school have his photograph and have asked their staff if they recognise him?
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No, I work full time and so it is difficult for me to go into the school during the hours that staff will be there. I will at some point find the time to go in with the photograph, but in the meantime if someone on HOL - who I can deal with over messaging/email - recognises him, I can phone the school to let them know.
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So it's not really a matter of "the school wants to know who it is"... you want the school to get involved with something over which the school has no jurisdiction... had the parent parked on the school entrance zig zags that is a matter which affects the safety of the other children and the Head should deal with that because it is a child protection issue. But the fact you had an altercation with someone in the street and it happened to happen outside a school doesn't make it the Head's responsibility to advise the parent that they shouldn't be abusive to cyclists....
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