One question on parking

[oak]

There is a big U-turn area near my son's daycare. The sign is the "no parking" (not no parking and standing) but with a yellow plate under it and says "kääntöpaikka". There are many parents who park here when they send their children to the daycare in the morning and fetch them in the afternoon. My question is whether it is allowed to do so by the parking regulations. If I park here in these circumstances, is it possible that somebody could call parking inspectors and give me a fine. Thanks

[sinikettu]

1. Parking inspectors tend to be un´-forgiving for silly parking near schools.
2: Use of common sense when parking seems to be rare amongst mothers delivering/collecting kids.
Park so you do not cause an obstruction.
3:It will take at least 10 minutes for a call to result in an inspector arriving.
So dont hang around.
If kid is not ready ..go back to car and be prepared to drive around block if inspector is spotted.


Two types corrected need my coffee fix...

[Hank W.]

Yeah, its no parking and the sign means it effects the whole "turning area".
Same effect could/should be done with a yellow square with the no parking denoting an "area".

[oak]

Thanks for sinikettu and hank with the responses. Like many others, I am a parent and I park there very shortly only because of sending or fetching the kids. If I have to stay longer, for example, due to daycare activities, I will park elsewhere or not drive at all. Everything is fine since the area is so big and it's only during the rush hours and normally nobody is blocked. The thing is that there is also a special user. This is a really big truck that delivers a few cartoon of milk perhaps once a week. He chooses to park at the same area, and it appears that it is because the daycare's kitchen is just beside this area. Unfortunately, this guy thinks when he comes, (yes, he does choose to come at rush hours in the morning) everybody must make way for him because of the sign. He also threatened about calling inspectors. I do not think this is reasonable. I think I can also call inspectors because he does block everybody when he parks there when he delivers the milk. Right? This is too absurd... So what do you suggest? Thanks again

[sinikettu]

Sorry but simple fact is that the Milkman is delivering Milk so he can stop there for that purpose.
Should he "accidentaly" reverse his truck into your car..
1: It is unlikely to damage his truck.
2: It will probably make a mess of your car.
3: You are illegally parked and you will get very short change from your insurance company.

So avoid the milkman....or rubbish truck man...they have divine rights.

[Rosamunda]

I was once fined by a municipal employee (a man in a blue Espoo van) who didn't like the way I parked. I had stopped outside school to drop off my son´s PE kit which he had forgotten at home. Took me 3-4 minutes to sprint from the car, ring the doorbell at school, dump the kit, run back to the car. Damn them. I smiled gracefully, took the fine and paid it, wondering if municipal workers really have the right to dish out parking fines. Presumably they do.

By the way... (off-topic-rant) my son's school is housed in a building which is leased to a Shell petrol station (on the ground floor) and a car repair shop (on the top floor). The building is NOT FIT FOR PURPOSE but as usual Espoo city has other priorities

[Karhunkoski]

I remember it being preached in the UK that parking outside a school was highly irresponsible, for the reason that kids tend to be short and easily get hidden behind cars, they also tend to race about recklessly. Obviously a kid appearing from nowhere (from behind a parked car), at speed, onto a road = squashed kid or injury.

Of course mothers (or fathers for that matter) dropping kids off at school are busy people, they were up early washing, feeding and dressing kids, it was a rush, they may have work to go to afterwards, so yes they are busy. The unfortunate fact is that many of these illegal parkers are not only busy, but also stupid and short-sighted, their selfish actions are quite capable of removing some of the rush problem from an unlucky parent, permanently

[blaugrau]

This is a useful document about driving in Finland: http://www.mintc.fi/oliver/upl939-Drivi ... inland.pdf

It also says on p. 23:
"Vehicles must not stop or park if a road sign prohibits this. A vehicle may, however, stop for a moment on the pavement or cycle track for the purposes of picking up, setting down, loading or unloading, provided that there are no other suitable stopping places nearby. When opening the vehicle door to get out, you must remember to watch out for other traffic. A vehicle that has stopped must not endanger traffic or unduly inconvenience passers by. If necessary, the driver must move the vehicle elsewhere. Parking tickets are issued for parking infringements, the penalty ranging from 10 to 40 euros."

So, I would see it so that you are allowed to park your car there in order to you pick up or "offload" your child provided you stay close to the car so you could move the car should it be necessary...

[oak]

Thanks Karhunkoski. That's a very valid point I never thought before. I think this is mainly because in my situation, it's a daycare rather than a school. All the running kids are normally inside the yard and protected by a fence and they are normally accompanied by adults when they are outside of the fence.

Thanks also sinikettu for the imaginary accident situation. I need to be careful about that. I do give way if I am near or in my car when the truck comes. Of course I can also choose to stay in my car and ignore the truck and ask my wife escort the kids into the daycare by herself and I say there is some pain with my leg if inspectors really come, which I doubt. If anyone tries to drive into my car while I am in it, I can accuse him of attempted murder. Perhaps I also put a gun or a sharp object in my car and let it be seen from the rear window and I will also use it to defend myself if I believe somebody attempts to murder me... My point is that a civilized society does not work like this. Right?

[oak]

This is a useful document about driving in Finland: http://www.mintc.fi/oliver/upl939-Drivi ... inland.pdf

It also says on p. 23:
"Vehicles must not stop or park if a road sign prohibits this. A vehicle may, however, stop for a moment on the pavement or cycle track for the purposes of picking up, setting down, loading or unloading, provided that there are no other suitable stopping places nearby. When opening the vehicle door to get out, you must remember to watch out for other traffic. A vehicle that has stopped must not endanger traffic or unduly inconvenience passers by. If necessary, the driver must move the vehicle elsewhere. Parking tickets are issued for parking infringements, the penalty ranging from 10 to 40 euros."

So, I would see it so that you are allowed to park your car there in order to you pick up or "offload" your child provided you stay close to the car so you could move the car should it be necessary...

Thanks blaugrau for providing the link. My common sense tells me that I am not wrong by parking there shortly in rush hours for the purpose of sending or fetching kids and I am willing to give way if necessary. Of course, I will also check it out with the authorities.

[Rosamunda]

One other point.... the number of kids who are actually driven to school in this country must be a fraction of what it is in the rest of Europe. Even my own kids walk/bus/metro nearly every day and I know that most of their friends do the same. Kids' school timetables are totally anarchic so it is extremely difficult for most parents to drop off their kids and even harder for them to be there when they finish ( <- doesn't apply to daycare of course). So the car problem is not particularly acute. And most of the schools I have been too (except my own sons') have quite well thought out parking/turning arrangements eg: the school next door to our house had a mini-roundabout built only last year.

It has been mentioned on here before: as soon as a Finnish child hits 7, he/she gets a bus pass, a door key and a mobile phone.