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Re: Reporting dangerous driving and parking on Swarthmore Road

Dear Parents

It is disappointing to see that the parking and driving on Swarthmore Road has again deteriorated. I have had several complaints from residents and parents and also seen this for myself. I have this week reported a car to the police for dodging around the crossing warden! This is appalling, dangerous behaviour and puts children’s lives at risk. I am assured by the police that this will be followed up.

While I get no enjoyment from reporting parents/drivers to the police, the safety of our children must come first. Being late for work in the morning is not an excuse to drive dangerously – my advice is to start out on your journey earlier. Time is the same for everyone and most of us do not resort to dangerous driving because we are running late. Remember at Northfield Manor it is every parents’ responsibility to make sure that our children get to school safely. A disregard for the safety of children will be challenged. I have no intention of arguing with anyone about the right way to park – we all know parking over the pavement so that pedestrians are forced into the road is wrong. We all know that driving up onto the pavement when there are crowds of children about is dangerous. If you do this, your licence plate number will be noted and it will be reported to the police.

I advise any parent who witnesses this behaviour to report this directly to the police and also to school as we keep a log of all incidents which we report to the council and police on a regular basis. Do not tackle drivers yourself as this can lead to confrontation which is upsetting for children present.

I have again requested an increase in police presence around school pick-up, drop-off time so hopefully this may also help to keep bad drivers in line. Unfortunately, senior staff are unable to ‘police’ the road as much as before due to the need to support pupil bubbles into school. Hopefully this may also change soon.

Road Markings on Swarthmore Road

The latest information from the council schedules the works for the summer holidays. I will let you know when I have a definite date.

So to summarise: all parents who park right next to the school, park further away and walk the last few minutes of your journey. Do not block the pavement and do not endanger the lives of our children. Set off 5 minutes earlier if you need to. Should you drive dangerously expect to be reported to the police.

Thank you to the majority of parents who support the safety of their own children and everyone else’s. We are a community – this is how it should be.

Yours faithfully

Mrs Pennington

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