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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.
