annoying school would-be traffic cop

[jay]

Nobody tells me what to do... not least some officious woman with a bullhorn in the drop-off area of Kevin's school.

I had to (a) drop him off instead of him riding the bus, because of a school project, and (b) take the Mustang, because the van is still in the shop. Kevin can't manage the seat release levers in the back. So I stopped the car, got out, flipped forward my seat, took his project and backpack and helped him out, standing as a shield from any oncoming traffic.

Said martinet comes up... " you can't do that! Kevin must be let out on the passenger side, it isn't safe to let him out from that door!" I'm the judge of safety conditions where my child is concerned, and the principal or parent volunteer or whomever can just go do unpleasant obscene things to herself, as far as I'm concerned. After shouting back and forth, I persisted in bringing Kevin around to the sidewalk and thence off to class with his project. The woman with the horn glared. I glared back.

If she can quote a school board regulation or the California Vehicle Code citing a requirement for right-side child egress, then fine, otherwise, I'll decide how I'm getting my kids out of the car... I don't take directions (from anyone) that don't have some legal backing...

Comments

[mnfiddledragon.livejournal.com]

Getting out on that side of the car would be impossible for one of the kids in our household. There's a carseat that absolutely blocks the path from the left side of the vehicle to the right side door.

I'd love to see her tell me to have my 8 year old daughter try to climb over the carseat to get out of the car (in a Saturn ION no less :P ) - Beena's the one who does it, since she's most familiar with traffic awareness, and Kritter's the oldest, and therefore the only one close enough to 12 for us to feel comfortable letting sit in the front for the short trip to school.

[weirdodragoncat.livejournal.com]

Ugh...what a bitch. Sorry you had to deal with that. My scary temper would have flared at that too. *hugs*

[mactavish.livejournal.com]

Some people just adore "authority."

[elissaann.livejournal.com]

I would guess that you both had the same goal: for your child to be safe. I wonder what went wrong.

what went wrong: my guesses

[dawnd.livejournal.com]

1) Person A (guard) with need to be right confronting another person B with need to be right.

2) No acknowledgment by either party of the mutual goal of safety.

3) Inflexibility on part of person A to getting the goal accomplished (safety for child), as opposed to simply being right.