Dear Parents and Carers,
I am writing to share with you yet another near miss of very serious injury being caused to one of our pupils, and a member of the public, due to the way in which some parents/carers are dropping off and collecting pupils at the start and end of the school day.
On Thursday 25th March, one of our pupils was very nearly knocked down as a parent had stopped their car in the middle of the road and allowed the child to open the car door to exit, mid traffic.
The child was very lucky that they were not hit by the oncoming car. The car door and the oncoming car was not so lucky. Significant damage to both were sustained. Due to the seriousness of this situation, I have informed the police of the dangerous driving around our school and have asked for their assistance in making our school safe for all. They have agreed.
However, I believe it is fair to bring the following to your attention before police take action: Under the provisions of the Road Traffic Act, if a person drives a mechanically propelled vehicle on a road or other public place without due care and attention, or without reasonable consideration for other persons using the road or place, they are guilty of an offence.
All sorts of driving could be said to be careless, from a moment’s inattention to driving into another vehicle or pedestrian. Examples include:
There is also a specific offence in the Act to open any door of a vehicle on a road so as to injure or endanger any person. Driving without due care and attention carries a penalty of either a disqualification, or between 3 and 9 points. You can also be faced with a fine up to £2,500 depending on the nature of the incident. The worse the driving, the worse the penalty will be.
The following will always be seen as aggravating features;
Please drop off and collect your children safely, responsibly and lawfully.
I am also very disappointed to share that when our staff where assisting all parties after this accident and asking cars to move on, some Parents/Carers were rude and aggressive to them. I would like to point out that our staff stand outside our school every single day to welcome and say good bye to our children.
We are there to keep them safe and ensure everyone who arrives to and then leaves our school is ok. They do not deserve to be abused for looking out for and after our children. Your children. I would not tolerate this for your child and I will not tolerate it for our staff. Behaviour such as this will be reported to the police and may result in a Parent/Carer’s right to access the school site being revoked. Please show you care by taking care.
Yours sincerely,
Mrs N Doward Headteacher
