'One in ten parents drives their child 500 yards to school', says research
Sustrans has blamed urban speed limits for the high levels of parents driving kids to school over short distances.
Renewing its call for 20mph limits, Sustrans’ chief executive, Malcolm Shepherd, called for the implementation of a national 20mph speed limit, saying: “The number of children travelling such short distances to school by car remains truly shocking."
Research suggests that one in ten parents who live within 500 yards of their child's school admit driving them to the school gates daily.
Shepherd added: “Just walking or cycling for brief periods each day can be massively beneficial to children’s health, particularly with the obesity crisis continuing to grow. Parents must feel that roads are safe enough for their children to walk or cycle along, and the introduction of a 20mph national default speed limit in built up areas would make our roads safer, increase physical activity and improve children’s health.”
Sustrans runs the Bike It programme, in which 60 officers around the country help schools with cycle training, storage, travel plans and parental involvement, leading to a trebling of children who cycle every day.
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2 comments
actually my observation, as someone who works at a different primary school every week, is that many parents drive their kids to school out of necessity, as they then drive onward to work. Lifestyles have significantly changed from the days when the "stay at home mum" walked the kids to school - now mum has to take the kids to school and then get to work. This needs to be accurately recorded before any "data" can be trusted - rather than "the research suggests"
Cycling Instructor Aug 30th 2012 at 2:42PM
0 2In response to Nic P - the Department for Transport's National Travel Survey (2008) revealed that only 7% of school-run car journeys involve an onward journey to work. The vast majority - 93% - drop the kids off and then drive straight home again.
Mike White Sep 4th 2012 at 9:37PM
0 0