This post doesn't strictly fall into the "Today’s rubbish getting shouted at by a geezer in a van" category as the vehicle in question was not exactly a van but some sort of body-modified range rover type of thing. You know the type.
Warning: this post may get rant-y.
My son and I were walking hand in hand along a busy and narrow pavement to get to school this morning. Why the pavement is so narrow outside a school I don't know (I do know. Can't take space from cars and give it to people that would just be INSANE). So the time was ~8.50 (think: lots of school kids around), we were walking near a school (think: lots of school kids around) and its a weekday morning (all signs are pointing to there being lots of school kids around).
Anyway, my son was skipping along and trying to walk on the kerb and I know that he has two left feet so I was holding his hand to make sure he didn't fall into the road. Sure enough at one point he tripped over but because I was holding his hand he didn't quite hit the ground but sort of dangled in front of me as I held him up. Crisis averted, or so I thought.
Next thing I know over my shoulder a horn blasts and a window is wound down. "You need to control your kid he fell onto the road". So I turn round and see this monstrosity of a van/spaceship/vehicle which has stopped and the guy inside is leaning over to make sure that I can hear him. My immediate thoughts are that 1) he didn't fall onto the road; 2) don't tell me to control my kid; 3) that is a ridiculous car.
I was annoyed that this guy felt the need to stop and remind me that roads are for cars so get out of my way. So I
couldn't help but respond semi-sarcastically and thanked the guy for not running over a child. The drivist felt the need to point out that he had been driving slowly and so he had been able to brake quickly, so I felt the need to point out that he was doing exactly as he should be doing: driving slowly around children outside of a school on a school morning where the kids are walking along a narrow pavement. Well done to you sir.
Things descended rapidly from there. It's almost as if some drivists feel like when they drive slowly and carefully that they are doing A Good Thing. Like they want a medal or something. He correctly pointed out that I had a terrible attitude. I pointed out that he had a big daft motor. Threats of violence etc came my way. Then we parted ways and presumably he was able to get over the inconvenience of having to drive to the conditions and brake to avoid killing a child that didn't even fall onto the road in the first place.
Rant over.
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