Did schools close because of snow when you were a kid?

[Nod]

I would say it's people driving too fast for the conditions that have caused the accidents rather than the freezing rain. There's a reason the advice is to only drive if absolutely necessary.

 

[woof woof]

Because main roads are generally in better condition?

Sounds like a non issue to me.

There's nothing horrendously wrong with the roads from the high street to home.

I'd imagine the drive over the M62 is far far worse.

 

[Nod]

Mrs Nod's little car. Parked up on the main road since our close was too dodgy to drive down yesterday afternoon.

 

[gad-westy]

There's nothing horrendously wrong with the roads from the high street to home.

It'd imagine the drive over the M62 is far far worse.

But they presumably have to deliver to lots of homes not just your's so have to make a decision whether it's generally safe to be out and about or not. And I guess for what you would call a very inessential journey, they've gone down the route of caution.

 

[Chipl95]

I've had school buses cancelled but schools always stayed open. It was up to the parents if they chose to send their children in or not.

 

[AHILL]

But they presumably have to deliver to lots of homes not just your's so have to make a decision whether it's generally safe to be out and about or not. And I guess for what you would call a very inessential journey, they've gone down the route of caution.

Have you got the right thread. or have I missed something.

Aaah I found it. ignore

 

[Phil V]

Different times.

And nothing to do with H&S or political correctness.

We all went to the nearest school, the teachers usually worked locally too.

But when I was a kid I knew no one that ‘commuted’. Nowadays teachers exist in a ‘competitive marketplace’ and all pupils are encouraged to go to schools that ‘perform’.

So what was a local service is now heavily reliant on travel, so a bit of travel disruption causes massive issues where it used to affect very few.

I had to travel for work one day last week and it was a nightmare. Fortunately I had 2 days working from home too, which was easy due to modern technology.

 

[AJQS]

Different times.

And nothing to do with H&S or political correctness.

We all went to the nearest school, the teachers usually worked locally too.

But when I was a kid I knew no one that ‘commuted’. Nowadays teachers exist in a ‘competitive marketplace’ and all pupils are encouraged to go to schools that ‘perform’.

So what was a local service is now heavily reliant on travel, so a bit of travel disruption causes massive issues where it used to affect very few.

I had to travel for work one day last week and it was a nightmare. Fortunately I had 2 days working from home too, which was easy due to modern technology.

Absolutely. My Dad teaches in a 6th form college with a 100mile round commute daily, with the kids and many other teaching staff coming similar distances too.

 

[woof woof]

But they presumably have to deliver to lots of homes not just your's so have to make a decision whether it's generally safe to be out and about or not. And I guess for what you would call a very inessential journey, they've gone down the route of caution.

Not too long ago the paper was delivered by a school boy/girl and they always got through

 

[woof woof]

Different times.

And nothing to do with H&S or political correctness.

We all went to the nearest school, the teachers usually worked locally too.

But when I was a kid I knew no one that ‘commuted’. Nowadays teachers exist in a ‘competitive marketplace’ and all pupils are encouraged to go to schools that ‘perform’.

So what was a local service is now heavily reliant on travel, so a bit of travel disruption causes massive issues where it used to affect very few.

I had to travel for work one day last week and it was a nightmare. Fortunately I had 2 days working from home too, which was easy due to modern technology.

Whilst I know that everything you say is to an extent true I do still think there's a lack of will to get through sometimes. There will be the odd one who is really snowed in and there will be the odd school which is cut off but mostly where're looking at relatively short commutes by people who live in and around town to relatively easy places to reach in weather which is really not all that bad.

I don't work now but when I did at one time I was doing about 75k miles a year in all weather. Towards the end I dropped the company car and switched to a Lotus Elan SE and then an Elise and you know what... the snow / other weather never stopped me once I'd taken the decision to set off There were obviously times when I didn't set off to cross the Pennines or the North Yorkshire moors and put it off for another day and on those days I'd go to base in Newcastle, a mere 45 miles or so away and a journey that may take 3 hours on a bad day.

I remember one day when I was in my 20's I got to work by a combination of walking to the bus stop on the main road and getting a bus to town and walking to work from there and I got there when people driving couldn't.

I do think that these days there's sometimes the suspicion that people don't try all that hard and that the authorities take a very cautious approach. But being cautious or even overly so may be the right thing as a day at school isn't worth someones life...

 

[Phil V]

Not too long ago the paper was delivered by a school boy/girl and they always got through

If they didn’t get through, they didn’t get paid so couldn’t buy new records or Oxford bags.

 

[Phil V]

I do think that these days there's sometimes the suspicion that people don't try all that hard and that the authorities take a very cautious approach. But being cautious or even overly so may be the right thing as a day at school isn't worth someones life...

That brings me to the other difference in modern life.
When I was young I knew a council driver who was ‘on call’ 4 months of the year for gritting duty. Last week the A road I use for work was covered in snow, not a grittier in sight.

We’ve handed control to the bean counters, who have calculated that a small risk of rare disruption is cheaper than being prepared.
And do you know what? They’re right. The problem is, it’s not a simple bite sized message, and the LA don’t want to admit that they’re planning to do FA.

 

[Phil V]

Oh yeah; the other thing about LA’s, when we were young the council could redeploy the majority of their staff to snow clearing etc.
Nowadays the council only employ ‘contract managers’ all the front line staff work for foreign contracting companies. So there’s no option to throw a large workforce at the problem.

 

[foggy4ever]

Junior and infants, no, small village and everyone walked. Comprehensive, yes, once or twice purely due to the heating system failing. It's never stopped me going to work, 5.30 am on fresh snow in a front wheel drive is fairly easy.