Maybe we could turn this in to National Walk To School Decade so those of us that actually need to travel some distance to work can do so without the bus getting stuck on a road being clogged up by yummy mummies driving their little precious darlings half a mile down the road?

I guess you don't have kids Becky ?
I am sure the parents, who care enough about their children's safety that they would rather give them a lift to school, sincerely apologise for causing inconvenience to people such as yourself, whose journey is obviously far more important.

How about walking them safely to school, Jim?? This can be done safely without using a vehicle.

I guess you don't have kids Becky ?
I am sure the parents, who care enough about their children's safety that they would rather give them a lift to school, sincerely apologise for causing inconvenience to people such as yourself, whose journey is obviously far more important.

I do, actually, Jim. They attend the local primary school. We walk there together in the morning, and then I carry on to the bus stop to travel to work. Walking really is a safe pastime, you know. Children don't need to be cooped up in metal boxes to ensure their safety, and on a ten minute walk each way to school and back, they're getting exercise and a practical lesson in road safety, which is more than they get from being shoved into a car and driven everywhere by taxi-of-mum-and-dad.

Becky wrote:
I guess you don't have kids Becky ?
I am sure the parents, who care enough about their children's safety that they would rather give them a lift to school, sincerely apologise for causing inconvenience to people such as yourself, whose journey is obviously far more important.

I do, actually, Jim. They attend the local primary school. We walk there together in the morning, and then I carry on to the bus stop to travel to work. Walking really is a safe pastime, you know. Children don't need to be cooped up in metal boxes to ensure their safety, and on a ten minute walk each way to school and back, they're getting exercise and a practical lesson in road safety, which is more than they get from being shoved into a car and driven everywhere by taxi-of-mum-and-dad.

Fair enough Becky. However it would take MY 2 small children at least 25 minutes, as one of them is disabled, to walk along a fast and quite dangerous road to reach their school. Therefore I take them to and from school in the car. The safety of MY children is my priority, and if that happens to cause a few people to arrive by bus a few minutes later than they would otherwise, and moan like hell about it, then ...tough.

Well said Becky. Let's get rid of the myth that children are only safe if they are in cars. It just isn't true.

If you can walk your kid to school, you should. You could spend time talking to your child instead of being distracted and having pile ups with other distracted parents.

School by car has become the norm on the back of good time econimics, but as the man said, the NICE years are behind us.

Get healthy, save money, spend some more time talking to your kids.

All this while saving money on petrol. How cool could that be?

I walked to primary school every day in the 80s and 90s, then took a bus or cycled 4 miles to secondary school. Things now are no more dangerous than they were back then - unless you believe the media and think you're going to get shot/stabbed/raped/m
ugged every time you step out of your front door.

More walking means less fat kids, and that can only be a good thing for society as a whole.

Jim wrote:

Becky wrote:
I guess you don't have kids Becky ?
I am sure the parents, who care enough about their children's safety that they would rather give them a lift to school, sincerely apologise for causing inconvenience to people such as yourself, whose journey is obviously far more important.

I do, actually, Jim. They attend the local primary school. We walk there together in the morning, and then I carry on to the bus stop to travel to work. Walking really is a safe pastime, you know. Children don't need to be cooped up in metal boxes to ensure their safety, and on a ten minute walk each way to school and back, they're getting exercise and a practical lesson in road safety, which is more than they get from being shoved into a car and driven everywhere by taxi-of-mum-and-dad.

Fair enough Becky. However it would take MY 2 small children at least 25 minutes, as one of them is disabled, to walk along a fast and quite dangerous road to reach their school. Therefore I take them to and from school in the car. The safety of MY children is my priority, and if that happens to cause a few people to arrive by bus a few minutes later than they would otherwise, and moan like hell about it, then ...tough.

MY children. MY life. MY car. MY attitude...

It's no wonder we've got global warming and obese kids when people have attitudes like this. 25 minutes? Busy road? It's called 'real life'. Get out of your car and experience the world!

Ecowarrior wrote:

Jim wrote:

Becky wrote:
I guess you don't have kids Becky ?
I am sure the parents, who care enough about their children's safety that they would rather give them a lift to school, sincerely apologise for causing inconvenience to people such as yourself, whose journey is obviously far more important.

I do, actually, Jim. They attend the local primary school. We walk there together in the morning, and then I carry on to the bus stop to travel to work. Walking really is a safe pastime, you know. Children don't need to be cooped up in metal boxes to ensure their safety, and on a ten minute walk each way to school and back, they're getting exercise and a practical lesson in road safety, which is more than they get from being shoved into a car and driven everywhere by taxi-of-mum-and-dad.

Fair enough Becky. However it would take MY 2 small children at least 25 minutes, as one of them is disabled, to walk along a fast and quite dangerous road to reach their school. Therefore I take them to and from school in the car. The safety of MY children is my priority, and if that happens to cause a few people to arrive by bus a few minutes later than they would otherwise, and moan like hell about it, then ...tough.

MY children. MY life. MY car. MY attitude...

It's no wonder we've got global warming and obese kids when people have attitudes like this. 25 minutes? Busy road? It's called 'real life'. Get out of your car and experience the world!

My daughter is disabled, did you not read that part? Should I make her go along that busy road twice a day in her wheelchair ? Is that what you are suggesting ??
THAT is why I take her to school in the car you moron. I suggest you try looking after a disabled daughter before you start lecturing me about "real life". In an ideal world we could all abandon our cars, but its not an ideal world is it ? You eco people think its all so easy - got out of cars, use public transport, bl...bla...bla . Maybe its easy for you, but its not for all of us, and I am sick of people like you telling me what I should and shouldn't be doing and that by using my car to take my kids to school I'm adding to global warming. So what.. I'm sorry if my attitude does not fit in with your "save the planet" fantasy, but as you say, MY kids are MY priority, so you can go and blame your global warming nonsense on someone else.

Chicken & Egg situation - roads are not safe but if you add a whole load of school run traffic to the area around the school you make the roads unsafer. There is nothing more selfish than a school run parent, they will park anywhere so they can pick up their children with the minimal amount of walking. Take away the school trafic and these roads around schools become free of traffic. It isnt a myth, I reckon during school holidays you can cut 15 mins off a journey because the traffic drops so much.

Of course, the media doesnt help with its paedogeddon beliefs that the boogey man walks the street snatching your children, the same media that tell us children are too fat.

I always walked to school or cycled and it didn't do me any harm. I was sensible and went with friends, none of us got run over and none of us got lured in by a man with a bag of sweets. Over protective parents with cotton wool children will create a generation who don't understand what their legs are for.

I agree- the roads would be much quieter if school children did not drive to school.

The younger ones who can barely see over the steering wheel are the ones who most alarm me.

And what about the kids who have 5 or more miles to travel to school? Ar ehe school buses going to stop running for the week thereby forcing them to walk?

Its all very well harping on about global warming and such, but every single person has a good reason NOt to walk their children to school which far too many people are ignoring.

Point in case - the lady above who has repeatedly said she has a disable d child and that walking is impractical and unsafe - which everyone is choosing to ignore!

My children will NOT be walking or cycling along the Carterton-Burford Road and nor I would hope will other people be putting their children's disadvantages last to pleasure a few "do gooders" who are probably all hypocrites anyway when it comes to many other environmental issues!