There was a report suggesting that occupants of cars were exposed to a greater
concentration of noxious fumes...

Can't recall details

Chris Yewlett                                    
School of City and Regional Planning, Cardiff University                        
   
Glamorgan Building, King Edward VII Avenue, CARDIFF CF10 3WA, Wales, UK         
               
[log in to unmask]
Tel: (+44) (0) 2920 875294 FAX: (+44) (0) 2920 874845
>>> Anzir Boodoo <[log in to unmask]> 08/04/05 1:29 AM >>>
Dave,
On 3 Aug 2005, at 23:56, [log in to unmask] wrote:

> I recall some work - possibly Australian - which showed that there  
> were
> greater risks for kids taken to school in cars - through a number  
> of factors
> including - lack of supervision and security ("its only a short  
> school run no need
> for seat belts" can fit 6 kids in my 5 seat saloon etc), and  
> stressed driver
> (get everyone through breakfast drop breadwinner A at the station  
> rush to the
> school drop kid B and then take kid C to nursery before rushing to  
> the part time
> job which just about pays to keep Kid C in nursery etc).  Combine  
> this with
> many schools which still have inherently dangerous arrangements for  
> mixed flows
> of kids, teachers cars, delivery vehicles and parents cars all  
> circulating in
> the same areas and it seems a logical outcome that the kids taken  
> to school
> in the cars are in greatest danger, as well as posing greatest  
> danger to those
> not in cars.

But it's what people *believe* that matters, not the facts...

...such as TV presenter Davina McCall being interviewed on Sunday,  
claiming she bought a Range Rover because her children would be safer  
in it than in a saloon car, something which is in fact an urban myth,  
and not borne out by the Euro NCAP safety ratings. However, because  
of such people saying such things on TV, and the *perception* that  
big 4x4s are safer, people will believe it.

The same thing is true of walking to school v going by car - many  
people *believe* going by car is safer, and perpetrate the myths.

This street in Bracknell is a cul de sac with a school on it, built  
as part of a New Town neighbourhood (ie designed to be easily  
walkable). The volume of school traffic has caused the emergency  
services to complain that if a life threatening incident did occur  
during the school run period, this street, and the streets near it  
would be inaccessible to an ambulance or fire engine. It is widely  
believed on this street that there is more chance of someone dying  
because the emergency services can't reach them than because of  
children walking to school.

Now when I was at school there a mere 20 years ago, we used to have  
huge numbers of schoolkids walking down the road in both directions  
(up the hill to the primary school, down the hill and through the  
alleyways to the secondary school). Of course, back then, all the  
pupils lived nearby because there wasn't the ridiculous "school  
choice" system which means kids from the next town can come to our  
primary school and clog up our roads. Of course we didn't have so  
many 3 and 4 car households then either...

-- 
Anzir Boodoo MRes MILT Aff. IRO
transcience, Leeds Innovation Centre, 103 Clarendon Road, LEEDS LS2 9DF