School run ‘costs lives’
A reduction in the number of children being driven to school could save a significant number of lives, according to a study by insurance firm MORE TH>N.
It states that motor accidents at peak times cause 7,000 fatalities and injuries each year, including the deaths of 200 children. The insurance firm estimates that around 12 per cent of all cars on the road during rush hour are taking children to school.
In the past ten years, school runs have increased by 20 per cent, with the number of pupils walking to school falling by 14 per cent.
MORE TH>N claims that 190 deaths could be avoided each year if the number of school runs was reduced by 10 per cent, and will be passing its findings on to the Department of Transport.
However, some campaign groups have questioned the figures involved in today’s report. SafeSpeed claims that official Department of Transport figures show that in total only 171 children were killed on the roads in 2003, and as such the statistic that the school run kills 200 children a year is ‘absurd’.
The latest official figures for road deaths were published in September 2004, for the year 2003, and they show that 171 road users between the ages of 0-15 were killed on the UK’s roads last year.
In its recent School Transport Bill the Government suggested that the start of the school day should be staggered in local areas to reduce congestion on the road.
As well as reducing congestion, today’s report suggests that such a move could also save lives.
The insurance group estimates that flexible school opening hours could reduce congestion by two thirds and so prevent 304 casualties a year.
MORE TH>N’s head of motor insurance David Pitt, said: “The school run has taken over the rush hour, creating congestion and increasing the chances of having an accident,” he said.
“Today’s parents are busier than ever, and concerned about the safety of their children yet the resulting increase in traffic may actually be making the situation more dangerous.
“The key is to encourage travelling to schools by bus or on foot rather than relying on the car.”
