The simple skill of crossing the road is being lost, claim experts, as more and more parents deliver their children to the school gates in a car. Education Reporter Lyn Barton examines the situation as National Walk to School Week starts today...

Ten years ago nearly 70 per cent of children walked to school come rain or shine.

Nowadays just on half walk as far as the car.

It is a sign of the times of high car ownership, says Councillor Phil Thornton, who bows out as Bradford City Council's Chairman of Highways this week.

He fears that a fundamental survival skill is being lost. "We are finding that children are getting involved in road accidents because they have absolutely no road sense whatsoever.

"They are being taught how to cross a road safely at school and at home.

"But when it come down to it, they are not practising crossing roads because they are in cars all the time."

He fears 'road sense' is not becoming a 'sixth sense' for primary-age children.

In time, he believes increasing numbers of children aged ten and over will be victims in road accidents because that is the age they will be let out by themselves for the first time, and they will not be equipped with road safety skills.

The danger time for children is around 5pm or 5.30pm, said Coun Thornton.

"They have got away from school and have had their tea. They are usually playing outside and unaware that it is still rush hour!"

The fall in the number of people strolling to school has a huge knock-on effect on the environment around it.

"It is the bane of my life," said Green Lane First School headteacher Pam Reader.

"Every morning and every evening we have cars outside the school gates and they do cause a problem. It has become very congested outside school.

"I must write to parents every few weeks or so and ask them not to park on the zig-zag lines, but someone always does.

"Sometimes I wonder how we have managed to get this far without having a child involved in a serious accident."

It is estimated that around a fifth of traffic on the roads at rush hour is involved with school journeys.

Schools being crowded by large numbers of cars twice a day pumping out pollution is just one of the unwelcome side effects.

It is also believed that the regular 'milk run' is adding to the increasingly sedentary lifestyle of modern youngsters who research has shown are choosing to get less and less involved with sports.

Add to that the increasing opportunities for young persons to lock themselves indoors in front of their computers and the result is some serious concerns over lack of exercise and heart disease.

It is perhaps overly harsh to heap blame on parents for choosing to drive their children to school.

Busy mums are often on their way to work or to get the family shopping when they drop their children off.

Mrs Reader says that most cite 'stranger danger' as the reason for them taking their children to school in the car.

"People say to me that at least it is safe and they will be able to watch their children."

In the light of many high- profile police hunts for snatched children, it is understandable that mums and dads are choosing to play it safe.

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