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 Justin Guest on
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Send it to the head and ask him to have parking enforcement patrol at pick up and drop off. We have the same issues of parking on yellow lines at SH too.
I should add, my wife was knocked off her bike some years back by someone opening their door and not looking. It turned out the guy had no insurance or license. Anyway, she was spilled into the middle of the road and thankfully was not killed by the Volvo estate behind her. The main reason she was ok but for bruises and cuts was that the guy had deliberately held back having seen her ahead of him. He had apparently killed someone several years earlier in exactly the same situation because he had (sadly) not left enough room...
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Permalink Reply by John McMullan on
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We're really second class citizens on the road.... see this astonishing footage of an attempted murder/hit-and-run from the BBC.
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Permalink Reply by CK on
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I find it hard to watch footage of cyclists nearly being killed. I have flashbacks to near misses - none of them my fault - and don't want to carry around more of those in my head than strictly necessary.
I have reported it to the school, who to their credit understood how serious it was. I have lodged a report with the police, and also reported this man via the London dangerous driving website. I'll be going to the Tottenham Lane police station later today to follow up. As well as the car details, I'll be able to recognise his daughter (not that it's her fault her father is a lunatic) so I don't think it's going to take long to identify him. The head teacher of my own child's school has worked hard to show parents that they need to be considerate of the local community when dropping off and picking up. So I'll be surprised if the North Harringay head - of whom one hears good things - thinks it's OK to let this go.
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Permalink Reply by Michelle on
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CK, so sorry to hear about this. My husband is a cyclist so I completely support your challenge to find this man. I am a governor at NHPS and am pleased to hear that you have reported it to the school and they are taking your report seriously. We have had issues with parents parking illegally to drop off their children at school and regularly have parking enforcement officers patrolling the area and notices in the newsletter warning of the dangers of parking illegally but the regular offenders do slip back in to their old ways. Please do let me know if there is anything I can do to assist and what follow up you get from the police.
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Permalink Reply by Laura on
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You are correct to position yourself out of the "door zone" on roads. You are correct this is always taught during cycle training. Some drivers will not/cannot understand that roads are not just for cars, they are for a variety of users and not all have a polluting engine. A cyclist in the "primary" position causes these car drivers all sorts of "issues". They are not keen on letting go of the space they have enjoyed for so long.
With regard to parking on the yellow lines outside schools, in my experience school staff are reluctrant to get too involved as they don't want to upset parents and, strictly speaking, it is not their jurisdiction. It is the London Borough of Haringey who is responsible for policing this system. Did you know drivers stop on yellow lines every single day Monday to Friday outside every school in the whole of the UK? It happens all the time, every day, morning and afternoon. Please let us know what the Police say. Thanks.
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Thanks for the supportive replies. I spoke to the head who said that they don't have parents' car registration details on file (I'm sure my child's school did ask us for these details, but no doubt schools differ in their record-keeping) but that if I could identify him, she would speak to him.
There was actually a parking enforcement officer right there as I pulled up to take my photo. I pointed out to him that the car was parked illegally, and though he was supportive - and joined me in telling the motorist that he needed to share the road with cyclists, not order them to get off it - throughout the whole incident he was on the phone to someone, with headphones in, and clearly more interested in his conversation than in enforcing traffic. I have photographic evidence, so I think I will go to the council parking people about this myself.
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Permalink Reply by Antoinette on
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You can email it to parking@haringey.gov.uk. You can even text via that email address which is useful if you've taken the pic on your phone. When I made a similar complaint to the Head at S Harringay he sent a text to all parents and put something in the newsletter. I think that you shold ask for the same.
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Whilst I'm sympathetic to your view (and have a child who likes cycling), I see that your post has been amended to remove the licence plate number, a description of the car and the driver and yet you feel the need to protect your identity!
Imo children are at greatest risk from car/van drivers. I have seen numerous impatient drivers overtake (at speed) stationary vehicles in Falkland Road and drive over the zig zags (the stationary vehicles being anything from a bin lorry, post office van, or even a parent dropping off a child
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It's entirely possible that the offending and offensive driver reads Harringay Online, if he's delivering a child to NH school. A poster's full name would quickly lead him to the poster's house via basic tools like 192.com. CK is wise to be anonymous, (anonymous) Angela.
I'm probably not anonymous even as Gordon T - a detailed enough reading of my posts would show which road I live on.... but so far I've been lucky enough not to have had such a confrontation.
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Ditto the original post Gordon which as I said contained the driver's licence plate number, car description, and approx. age and ethnic background of the driver.
I also wondered what CK would have done with the driver's details if anyone was able to identify him.
As a non-driving, non-cycling person I have had a number of confrontations over the years. But almost never with other pedestrians.
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Permalink Reply by HoL Site Admin on
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The license plate and a full description of the person involved were removed by site admin. Whatever the rights or wrongs of an incident, we don't allow the publication of of 'transgressors' details. That's not to say they can't be exchanged by message or email.
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