Police target parents as school pick-up chaos continues at Bushey Meads School

7:19pm Monday 11th May 2009

By Filip Hnizdo

The second leg of a police-run cycling course in Bushey moonlighted as a traffic warning to parents today as officers waited at school gates for pick-up time chaos to erupt before them.

Within minutes of the launch of the exercise, a mother in a 4x4 vehicle speeds over from the left lane, crosses the road in the wrong direction and nose dives onto the pavement by Bushey Meads School's zig zag warning signs. Her car is followed by dozens of others coming from all directions as hundreds of children pour out of the school into the road.

Special Sergeant Paul Shannon walks up to explain the situation to the 4x4 driver but she appears unaffected by the looming threat of prosecution seemingly getting in the way of a child's trip home.

Soon there are so many cars illegally stopping outside the Coldharbour Lane school that all the officers can do is shake their heads and create temporary pedestrian crossings.

Sergeant Shannon said: “Earlier we had a big BMW pull up in the middle of the road, four doors open, kids jumping out. Not only are they obstructing the highway but they are just throwing the kids out into the road. It only takes two seconds to be hit by a car.”

He added: “It may be for a few seconds but if you have one lunatic speeding down the road with his mates and smashing into it we have a major incident on our hands.”

Sergeant Shannon is working with Special Inspector Ian Rampaul and Special Constable Wendy Barrr, all three of them volunteers, to educate children on the benefits of safe cycling and walking and teach parents to obey the Highway Code.

The cycling proficiency course at Bushey Meads follows a successful pilot scheme run in Little Reddings School in Bushey.

A police parking patrol was run around Highwood School in Bushey last year and one is on its way to Queens' in Aldenham Road, but concerns raised at last week's meeting of the Bushey Crime Reduction Group pointed to situations quickly returning to chaos soon after officers leave the scene.

Following a recent crash outside Bushey Meads School in which a teenager's car overturned, the school has acted quickly to open its rear gate in Harcourt Road in the mornings and after school and launch the cycling scheme, all meant as a way of avoiding traffic and possible tragedy.

Seargent Shannon said: “It can be a nightmare here. They've been talking to the county council about doing something for some time. It's very sad that it only seems to be when there's a nasty accident that anyone actually does anything to try to fix the situation.”