A furious dad has blasted an “inconsiderate” van driver for blocking the pavement and forcing him onto a busy road with his dog and buggy in Edinburgh.
The incident occurred at around 3.30pm on Tuesday afternoon on Drum Brae South with the dad, who wishes to remain anonymous, claiming that high school students were also forced to walk onto the main road in order to access the bus stop, Edinburgh Live reports.
A photo shows a silver work van hanging out of a driveway and blocking the majority of the pavement. This led to schoolchildren having to bunch together at the bus stop and forced the angry dad with his buggy and dog into traffic that was travelling up the hill.
He said: “I was picking up my son from the child minder and decided to walk back with the dog rather than hop on a bus as the schools had just finished when I saw this van sticking out.”
He added: “At first I thought there was someone driving it and that they were just edging out to try to get out onto the road but when I got closer I realised that no one was in it. I could see school kids having to go onto the busy road and I was forced to do the same with my one-year-old son and dog.
“The school pupils had no option but to be squished in at the bus stop due to the van. They were all great and moved out the way for us but they did not have to.
“I saw the driver as I struggled past and he just looked sheepishly at me when I challenged him and shrugged his shoulders. It is so dangerous and inconsiderate as there was a whole area behind him that he could have reversed into.”
Local SNP councillor, Euan Hyslop, also branded the driver as “selfish” as he said no one should be forced onto a busy road due to the actions of careless motorists.
He said: “There’s no excuse for the kind of selfish behaviour displayed by the operator of this vehicle who has made a decision to block an entire footpath alongside a very busy road.
“People live in this community, many of us use pavements and footpaths to walk and wheel to and from schools and nurseries as well as shops and local facilities at the bottom of Drum Brae. Nobody should be forced onto the road in the path of oncoming traffic, especially not children trying to get to school.
“I know of a number of local disabled residents who would have found it extremely difficult, if not impossible to get around this van parked across the whole width of the pavement. As a driver I’m regularly challenging myself to make sure my behaviour is respectful to other road users and local residents.
“I would urge others to be mindful of their impact while behind the wheel and to challenge selfish behaviour like this on display here in our community which can cause disruption to others accessing our roads and footways, as well as unnecessary risk to others.”
