[Aliantha]

Yesterday outside a suburban school, a mother double parked her car while waiting to pick up her children. When asked to move along by police officers, she refused and was then arrested and handcuffed right there in front of the school.

The debate now is about whether the police acted impulsively and/or in an overly heavy handed manner.

It's easy to see both sides of the story, but if you bring the law back to the basic reason for its existance, people are not supposed to double park because it endangers lives. Is it unreasonable to think that, on a street outside a school ground would be the place where most parents would be particularly concerned about the lives of their children and their safety? Is it so difficult for a mother to understand that if she parks there in order to aid her children, she might be placing someone else's child at risk?

I believe that in this modern society where everyone seems to be 'in it for themselves', the police acted appropriately and I think there's a lesson here for all those 'car pool cowgirls'!