A political row over the benefits or otherwise of the taking of children to school by car as opposed to public transport or letting them walk is reaching fever pitch.
It stems from a report released recently by the insurer More Th>n, which has found that the number of journeys by car to school has risen by 20 per cent in the last decade, and that the number of children walking to school has dropped. Consequently, 7,000 people die or are injured in school run car accidents, says the report. Two hundred of the dead are children.
The reports goes on to suggest that a 10 per cent reduction in school commuting would save 190 lives and injuries, and that staggering school opening times could save 300 lives.
Anti-motoring organisations such as Transport 2000 responded by saying, "We have to tackle this parental culture whereby they believe that the only safe way to get their children to school is in the back of the car ... and I think the Government needs to get more out there and explain to parents why taking their children to school in the back of the car is not the best option."
Meanwhile, motoring organisations were split over the issue. The AA Motoring Trust weighed in on the side of the motorist, saying that parents have a right to take their children to school. Andrew Howard, head of road safety for the AA Motoring Trust, said, "“The big thing is the fact that people want to have the freedom to choose which school their children go to ... I think the Government has got to remember that it [would be] making a major change to people’s lives and a lot of people want to do with what fits in with their lives."
However, the RAC said that more needed to be done to reduce parents' dependence on using their car to get their children to school. A spokeswoman said, "More needs to be done to reduce the number of cars used in the school run ... With 40,000 children hurt in road accidents in Britain every year, safe transport methods are paramount when devising routes to school."
PistonHeads thinks that, if lives can be saved and school run congestion relieved by allowing more children to get to school by other means, then parents should be encouraged -- but not forced -- to use them.