Where are the kids?

There is currently an active discussion over at bikejournal.com as to why kids aren't cycling or walking to school in the numbers that they used to (I'd post the link, but you'd need to register for the site to read it, so there isn't really much point). The most common reasons given were fairly predictable -- ranging from a lack of cycling facilities, to the possibility of encountering certain types of "predators" to the number of text books children carry in this day and age(!).

This got me to thinking, the first two factors on that list are obviously considered a safety risk (the last could be solved by simply only bringing the books to school that are needed on a particular day). However, being driven to school everyday is not without risk either, the increase in child obesity throughout the developed world in one highly publicised side effect of our increasing lack of physical exertion. However, nobody ever seems to think of the possibility of being involved in a car "accident" on the way to work or school.

This is actually a very real risk -- I know because I ride past so many on my rides home from work in the evenings. It would be interesting to see whether this actually posed a bigger risk than the threat of encountering "predators" on the way too and from school. I'd suggest from simple observation that there is a definite possibility that it might, however, it seems strangely absent from the equation when people are considering just how to take their children to and from school (on a side note -- in my formative school years my mother used to walk to school with me, so this may present a possible solution -- and as I made more friends at school I rarely walked home alone anyway).

The most likely cause of this absence, of course, stems from the fact that car crashes generally get a relatively small space in news reports (unless a bicycle is involved, in which case, get ready for weeks of "cycling is dangerous" editorials). I can only assume that there are two possible reasons for this absence. Either car crashes happen so often they are no longer "newsworthy" (in which case, I'll take my chances with the predators, where the odds are probably better), or they're not being reported because a few car manufacturing sponsors might get a little upset with some negative press coverage (in which case, anything they say should be taken with a grain of salt).

Either way, I encourage any parents reading this to at least consider allowing children to walk or cycle to school. I'd suggest the risks involved are grossly overstated (and certainly the alternative is no guarantee of a safe passage). More to the point, it might just do them some good, they can learn to plan around which textbooks they need to bring for a particular day, but more importantly, you'll be giving them the gift of mobility. Although they may not appreciate it now, there will come a day when they will thank you for it.