The vast majority of parents are unsatisfied with how their child’s school is dealing with traffic at peak times, with more than half reporting ‘chaos’, a new survey suggests.
The survey was carried out by the AA, who canvassed the views of more than 3,000 parents about the efforts made to reduce the number of cars at the school gate.
Most respondents (91%) said there isn’t an effective school traffic management plan in place at the beginning and end of the day – while 56% reported ‘chaos’ at these times.
Steve Horton, Road Safety GB’s director of communications, said: “Congestion outside many schools at peak times is nothing new, although with the general trend for increased traffic the challenges it causes seem to increase annually.
“This congestion adds to the complexity of the situation which makes it more obvious to drivers that they are in a higher risk area.
“This clear complexity means most road users negotiate the area with an enhanced level of concentration and hence the amount of serious crashes around schools is thankfully low.
“However, a product of reducing congestion and traffic flows outside schools is increased perceptions of safety and creating a nicer, calmer environment that encourages more people to walk and cycle.
“Of course most of the difficulties outside schools caused by inconsiderate drivers is actually caused by the very group that has to deal with the complex situation; parents.
“So parents can influence greatly the risk to children that many of them create, as well as do their own children the huge benefit of letting them walk or cycle to school in a supervised way so that they can gain vital experience in dealing with a range of road traffic.”
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