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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

About driving kids to school

246 replies

Rowanapp · 18/03/2021 21:32

So I walk the kids to school, and then cycle to work. Now secondary schools are back the traffic is awful again. I hate the fumes and worry about my kids developing lungs and brains being exposed to them. Why is the traffic so bad? Key workers presumably have always been driving to work. Everyone else still WFH. I always thought parents needed to drive due to needing to go on to work but that can’t be the case it must be parents driving children to school. I live 1.1 miles from school and up quite a big hill but mine have walked from starting at 4, or scooted (but I worry about scooter because of the traffic and now are good on bikes but I can’t cycle on the road with them because of the traffic)
Why can’t these children walk? I get some rural kids can’t but in a densely populated city why not just send your kids to a school within a few miles and let them walk. It’s good for their mental health and learning and physical inactivity is a far bigger killer than covid. Obviously some children have disabilities and specific challenges but honestly when did we become like this that most kids are thought incapable of walking a couple of miles a day.

OP posts:
thesugarbumfairy · 19/03/2021 12:04

Well I drive my primary school child to school because it starts when I'm supposed to be at work (I am working from home).
There is no longer a breakfast club (due to Covid) and if I walk him there, its half an hour out of my working day, and pain for the rest of the day (joint issues) He will be walking there after Easter on his own so not an issue. And he walks much quicker than I do. Well everyone does...

I drive my secondary school child to the station because its 50 minutes walk there followed by a further 20 minute walk at the other end, and I can only just about get him out of bed at 7.15am and that's a torturous daily process :) It takes 6 minutes to get to the station in the car. Its much easier for everyone doing it that way (he can't walk the route we take by car as its an A road and very unsafe for pedestrians and cyclists)

HTH

LolaSmiles · 19/03/2021 12:08

I feel embarrassed for secondary school kids who are getting dropped off and picked up by their parents
Where I've worked the by large the students who tend to get lifts from parents are those who live out of catchment without decent transport links or have SEND requirements.
It's generally considered a bit embarrassing by most students to be picked up, unless you're going somewhere specifically after school such as a dentist appointment, sports training, music lesson.

It always amuses me when I visit some of our feeder primaries to see so many cars when most of their students will walk from that area to our school, which is a considerably further walk.

Original poster
Rowanapp · 19/03/2021 12:14

@Mrgrinch

If nothing else, this is extremely ableist.

Of you don't like traffic and fumes then why the hell are you living in a city?

If I didn’t live in a city I would be inflicting my fumes on others by driving to work as I work I one. Many people need to live in cities, doesn’t follow they should be exposed to air pollution. Not all disabled people can afford a car and those with chronic illness are most affected by air pollution so pretty sure I’m not being ableist.
OP posts:
2late2fixate · 19/03/2021 12:16

@TooOldandTired

Kids today are fucked They really aren't, maybe don't judge all kids on 1 child.

I work with hundreds of children.

Original poster
Rowanapp · 19/03/2021 12:19

[quote DynamoKev]@Rowanapp
Around 1500 people and children die each year after being hit by cars.

Not sure where you got that from. Latest government figures say it's about 470.

Obviously one is too many but your figures don't seem very credible.[/quote]
assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/922717/reported-road-casualties-annual-report-2019.pdf
Here you go. 1752 people in 2019.
That is just people killed not including those injured many of which injuries will be life altering.

OP posts:
GoldenBlue · 19/03/2021 12:23

Very rural. 12 mile journey to school. No public transport near to our home.

There are nearer schools but still no safe walking route.

This school is next to my work place in the centre of a town. I'm a key worker but was able to work at home whilst schools were closed. I'm choosing to work in the office now as it's more convenient.

Many of the kids travel a long way to this school as it doesn't use a distance element in the selection criteria and it's a great school.

KingdomScrolls · 19/03/2021 12:29

I could walk to work it's about five miles, but I finish late and last week a man just on his way home on his bike was stabbed. Don't fancy it.

DynamoKev · 19/03/2021 12:32

@Rowanapp
Here you go. 1752 people in 2019.
But you said
Around 1500 people and children die each year after being hit by cars.
You are quoting ALL road deaths, but claiming they are all deaths where people and children (not sure what difference you see between the two groups die after being hit by cars

The figure for pedestrian deaths from the link you quoted is 470.

Of the 1752 you quote, the vast majority were IN a vehicle , so your claim about being "hit by cars" is not supported by those figures at all.

Original poster
Rowanapp · 19/03/2021 12:39

Honestly does a make a difference to the argument? 470 pedestrians + approx 1500 more in a vehicle of some sort die on the roads every single year. Many more are maimed and seriously injured. If 470 people were abducted by strangers and murdered pretty sure we’d be up in arms. But we accept this death toll as okay because we prize our cars above all else.

OP posts:
willibald · 19/03/2021 12:44

@Rowanapp

Honestly does a make a difference to the argument? 470 pedestrians + approx 1500 more in a vehicle of some sort die on the roads every single year. Many more are maimed and seriously injured. If 470 people were abducted by strangers and murdered pretty sure we’d be up in arms. But we accept this death toll as okay because we prize our cars above all else.
Yep, sure do! Love my car. Love the invention of the automobile. No interest at all whatsoever in living the Amish life or being on a bike around here, rural Scotland, windy A roads national speed limit.

But you crack on!

You do you and others will do themselves.

Macncheeseballs · 19/03/2021 12:51

I'm with you #ragged, I decided I always wanted to live walking distance from a school, like when I was a kid

Padamae · 19/03/2021 13:00

This reply has been deleted

This has been deleted by MNHQ for breaking our Talk Guidelines.

Legoninjago1 · 19/03/2021 13:00

A lot of people are back in the office. The Times reports today that 53% of the working population were in their offices last week for at least a day - up 48% on the week prior. Things are going back to normal slowly. Traffic round here suddenly went mad this week too. I have to drive mine.

NerrSnerr · 19/03/2021 13:03

There people who have to drive their children to school for various reasons. There are plenty who don't have to drive their children and who just can't be arsed to walk.

DynamoKev · 19/03/2021 13:08

@Rowanapp

Honestly does a make a difference to the argument? 470 pedestrians + approx 1500 more in a vehicle of some sort die on the roads every single year. Many more are maimed and seriously injured. If 470 people were abducted by strangers and murdered pretty sure we’d be up in arms. But we accept this death toll as okay because we prize our cars above all else.
Fair enough, just make up whatever figures and claims you like then - after all it doesn't a make a difference to the argument.
Theunamedcat · 19/03/2021 13:09

Because there are no breakfast clubs running no wraparound care so parents have to drop and run on there way to work

And bikes are a pita on country roads especially uphill when I cant pass them because the road is narrow so I can see whats coming and they are wobbling with exertion the overgrown paths should be cut back for bike lanes but they won't because bees but bees need flowers not shitty grass and dead leaves

LIZS · 19/03/2021 13:10

A lot of today's parents were driven to schools themselves so either assume it is safer or out of habit. Maybe you could liaise with school about encouraging walking, such as a walking bus, no traffic zones, crossings etc.

ItWasTheBestOfTimes · 19/03/2021 13:11

I think YABU and I say that as someone who does walk most days. I'm lucky that I have a flexible job WFH and can log on whenever I want to in reason but not everyone's circumstances are the same. It's 25 min walk away for me and it isn't that much quicker for DP to drive with traffic and then finding somewhere to park, usually a 5 minute walk away. DP usually does the drop off if the weather is very bad. I don't mind a bit of rain but when it's really windy or hailing she goes by car.

I do worry about air pollution when we are walking along the busy main roads as it's us walkers that are breathing the fumes in and would it be better for my DC from a health perspective if we drove. Anecdotally, during my first pregnancy I went to booking appointment by car and blew a reading of 0 for the carbon monoxide test. In my second pregnancy I walked from work to GP around 20 mins away along a busy road and on that occasion my reading was 4 which I was told is high for a non-smoker. So I assume it was due to breathing all the fumes in from cars whilst walking. I'm not sure what the solution is and I would be a hypocrite to say we should all try and give up our cars as I know as a family life would be more difficult if we did.

Original poster
Rowanapp · 19/03/2021 13:14

Actually I think most parents at my primary school do walk their kids and older kids seem to walk alone. Rarely see people parking. I have been involved in the walking bus as well.
I’m assuming that the school traffic is to do with the secondary schools and private schools of which there are a few locally....don’t know and every local area is different. I’m sure it’s related to schools though because of the massive increase this week around school start time.

OP posts:
RidingMyBike · 19/03/2021 13:14

A lot walk to DD's primary school, but there are quite a few of us who live further away (no places at school we could walk to). It's 2.5 miles for us, but unpleasant journey involving M25 jct, roads with no footpaths etc.

It's also worse at the moment as breakfast club isn't running, so there's a lot of parents parking close to school so they can hurtle off ASAP to start work by 9am. That's people WFH, so goodness knows what it'll be like as workplaces reopen.

Admittedly the amount of car use goes up in heavy rain though!

LucieStar · 19/03/2021 13:17

@multiplemum3

Because I have to get to work. Soz about that.

😂

Macncheeseballs · 19/03/2021 13:18

Dynamokev, i agree with rowanapp, the figures dont really make a difference, the death toll is unacceptable

Comefromaway · 19/03/2021 13:18

@Rowanapp

Actually I think most parents at my primary school do walk their kids and older kids seem to walk alone. Rarely see people parking. I have been involved in the walking bus as well. I’m assuming that the school traffic is to do with the secondary schools and private schools of which there are a few locally....don’t know and every local area is different. I’m sure it’s related to schools though because of the massive increase this week around school start time.
Or it could just be people on their way to work.
TheJerkStore · 19/03/2021 13:19

Everyone else still WFH

That's not true.

VicarofDibley · 19/03/2021 13:22

2hr walk each way to my DC"s secondary and that including narrow country roads and working so me and DH and another set of parents who we are good friends because our DC is best friends with their DC we share the school run .They are in the same form so same bubble that way we are not both travelling at once .