4lex L

I get the train to work so its not really an issue for me but I'm constantly hearing complaints about peak time traffic problems cause by kids being driven to/picked up from school. Now I can understand the reasons for primary schools but even my old secondary school is a nightmare around 3ish. When I was at school (around six years ago - so not that long ago) I used to walk or ride the bike, friends from areas further away got a school bus. Now I don't believe that the world is anymore of a dangerous place now than when I was at school so why the sudden trend, I'm sure it wasn't always this bad. There must be some parents on here whose kids are driven to school and I'd be interested to hear their views. <Flame suit on of course! >

fitzscoob

if there wasnt a school run then renault would not sell any scenic people carriers.

always amazes me, 7 seater bus type thing infront and kid in the back is not much bigger than a pumpkin.

Scooby96

I wouldnt let my stepson ride to school aged 8. Not sure what age I'd start letting him - something to discuss with the gf I suppose, but I doubt I'll let my daughter walk / ride to school on her own at any age. Dont think I can walk with her either as it will make me very late for work as I'll have to walk the 2 miles back home to get the car for the 5 mile journey to work.

davegtt

disagree the world is alot more dangerous than say 10 years ago, a hell of alot mroe peodos and killers hanging around doing something about their obssesions now... IMO off course.

all though I believe the problem lies with Mrs Smith at number 30 leaves the house at 8:30 to take her daughter to school in her landrover, mrs Brown at number 32 leaves her house at 8:32 to take her son to school. and Mrs Rodgers at number 34 leaves her house at 8:33 to take her daughter to school.... now why dont they all just get a lift off 1 another :angry: arrrggghhhhh

should run a service more like the states where a specific bus for school goes around a certain route. might help to cut the traffic down...?

paulr

My sis drives one daughter to school,and lets one walk.Her biggest worry is that the path is alongside a busy road.There's a lot more traffic than when i went to school,probably other school runs tbh.

Scooby96

fitzscoob - dont think they buy it just to take little jimmy to school - what about when the whole family go out at the weekend???

Scooby96

"davegtt - now why dont they all just get a lift off 1 another"

well cos for one my gf goes straight to work afterwards, or goes to sainsburys etc etc - in an ideal world everyone would get a lift with everyone else and there would only be 6 cars on the road - get real, it will never happen!

Scooby96

Plus - I aint sharing my personal space with anymore little whinging gits that I currently have to!

4lex L

Yeah I agree, car pooling or american style buses is a good idea. I read recently though that a yellow school bus service being run in the UK somewhere was not being used by kids because they were embarassed about its colour

davegtt

yeah thats fine she can do, they all wait outside your house at 8:30, they get in ya car, drop em off at school and then u can go to work or sainsburys anyhow....

scoobynutta555

"disagree the world is alot more dangerous than say 10 years ago, a hell of alot mroe peodos and killers hanging around doing something about their obssesions now... "

Rubbish. There have always been paedophiles and muderers. Take your rose tints off. Your opinion might carry more weight if you could even learn how to spell peadophile. All IMHO of course

Scooby96

In theory it sounds ok but just cant see it working.

I still say I dont want any other ******* screaming kiddies in my car!

davegtt

scoobynutta, sorry to disagree without going off topic, I have no need to know how to spell something that I dont use all the time, how often do I need to type it. anyways back to my point, what Im saying s ther are more people acting out fanasy's IMO. alot more child abuse for people thinking they can ge away with it. IMO the world/streets are a hell of alot more dangerous.

I mean people get killed over 50pence on a daily basis now just cause kids think its cool to carry knifes etc

scoobynutta555

The reason I brought up the spelling of paedophile is an example of you not really knowing what you are talking about. If you wish to post up some figures backing up your point then I will retract.

The world has always been a dangerous place. And if anything, regarding murder and paedophilia are likely to be less so nowadays due to advances in science and attitudes to child abuse. Because of this, detection for murder in this country is quite high, and subsequently this may act as a deterrent to some wishing to break the law.

Did you know in fact that the age on consent in this country is higher now than it was about 100 years ago? Criminal Law Amendment Act in 1885 raised the age of consent from 13 to 16. Its passage through Parliament was difficult because several mps objected to its restrictions on their sexual access to young girls.

So if you want to liberally use IMO's it might be best if you had something to back your point up rather than scare mongering.

Kevin Mc

Our kids are taken to school in the Mrs's Saab 9-3. That car was chosen primarily for its safety.

School is about 2 miles away up a country lane with no paths and very few people - so there's no way they're walking.

When they move up to the "big school" age 11 (I think) they will be walking as it isn't that far.

Tiggs

my kids go to the same primary school that i went to..hears a view reasons why the car gets used.

more familys have more kids (my parents couldnt afford me and my brother...i have 3 kids as i have more oney than they had)
with babys/toddlers/school kids its sometimes easier for mums to put all the kids in the car instead of walk with brothers/sisters in tow.

more money for more cars, my folks had one car and dad went to work in it.....if my mum had had an MPV 20 years ago you can be dammmm sure she'd have driven it!

roads more dangerous.....more cars = more danger, cant be denied.

more working/active parents.....my mum walked me until i was 7 ish then she walked home......nowadays many people are going on to the gym/shops/work/etc and dont want to walk home to get the car.

more kids...there are more of them!



the only way to deal with the problem is:

dont be lazy- my wife walks 99% of the time in all weather!

bann extra kids- BIG tax on ppl with more than 2 kids (i have 3 and would agree that its an extranvagence that should be taxed)

school bus.....soooooo simple, in fact maybe a good business opertunity for someone. i would pay £x per month for someone (registered via local authority) to pick my kids up.

T

as you can see my school didnt teach spelling...hope its got better

[Edited by Tiggs - 11/18/2003 5:19:19 PM]

AudiMan

I take my two kids to school (8 & 10) as I think the world is a much more dangerous place than when I was there (20yrs ago), also the fact that Milly Dowler was found less than 2 miles from their school reinforces my opinion.
BRING BACK THE DEATH SENTENCE FOR CONVICTED CHILD KILLERS....

Tiggs

disagree with the above....which time period was "safe"? 1970's? 60's? 40's? safer when they sent kids up chimneys?

i would have thought the likleyhood of getting abducted was tiny, when the roads are quiet (sundays for example) my 7 year old walks to the post box etc on her own (5 min walk from the house, few roads involved but no crossings)

got to let them live their lives etc etc

T

scoobynutta555

“News headlines often give the impression of paedophiles or killers on every street corner, murdering every passing child. The official statistics present a much different picture. According to government figures only five children are murdered by strangers each year in England and Wales, on average. Most child homicides are in fact committed by the parents. Over the last 25 years there has been no increase in child murder by strangers. The overall murder rate (all ages) is the same now as it was in 1857 (roughly 13 per million of the population per year)”
The Independent, 25 Sept 1996

Brendan Hughes

My wife's son was 12 when he came to stay with me for the summer. I got him onto a Cycling Proficiency Scheme, bought him a cheap MTB and told him to cycle to the swimming pool 2.5 miles away down an A road rather than me driving him there. His mum objected ("too dangerous"), but thanked me later for giving him independence.

I've never had a baby or a girl, so I can't comment, but I'd prefer that they get used to facing the real world rather than being cossetted.

tiggs, sorry to see your circular logic "More people own cars / more cars are more dangerous therefore more get driven". Sad but probably true. Same argument for the increase in wives driving 4x4s.

ProperCharlie

Tiggs - what makes you think there are more kids? there are less kids. Take away immigration and the population of the UK is decreasing as fewer people are having kids and those that do are having fewer. Ther reality is that people are lazier and consider it their god given right to drive absolutely everywhere. personally, i detest the school runners and think that they are damaging their kids by wrapping them in cotton wool - how are they gonna get on in life if they can't go down the road without the protection of a 2 tonne landrover? i walked and cycled or tubed to school from a very early age, and would expect my kids to do the same (ok i don't have any now but one on the way so ask me in 5 years ). As for the son/daughter thing, a young male is more likely to come to harm than a young female due to the increased risk of being involved in fights.



[Edited by ProperCharlie - 11/18/2003 7:03:04 PM]

tiggers

For goodness sakes PC don't you know that kids have to be wrapped in cotton wool these days. That's why we can't have MSN chatrooms, watch certain films on TV or even question why little Jimmy ran into the middle of the road to get knocked over by a car doing 30.001 mph when at 29.999 mph he had 10 billion more chances of survival thereby proving speed kills.

Regards,

tiggers.

Huge

My son (6) has cycled to school (c0.5 mile away) with his Mum for well over a year. He does so whatever the weather, and he really enjoys doing so. He has to cross one main road but he's been taught how to do so safely and is, in any case, with his Mum. The main road is now very safe to cross as it has a brand new traffic light controlled crossing.

However, neighbours, & those living even closer to the school, drive their kids there. This makes the cramped residential area outside the school a battleground for pedestrians & cyclists alike - hey, yellow lines can't possibly apply during school delivery or pick-up times can they?

Despite the threats from the school to involve the police...nothing.

There are mothers who arrive over 20 mins before the end of school just to be able to park. FFS - it only takes most of them 10 mins to walk!!

Most of the Mums clearly have f*ck all to do during the day ("just off to the gym" - f*cking walk to school!!) so time can't be an issue.

It just reflects the general standards of laziness in this country - no wonder we're the unhealthiest nation in Europe.

Hugh

ProperCharlie

Hugh - i know what you mean. Why can no-one see the irony of spending £1000s a year on membership of your local david lloyd when you can't even be bothered to wak down the street? I admit that i use my car every day, it would be very difficult to do the work i do without it. However, when I get home I park it up and generally don't use it again until leaving for work the next day. If I got to visit a friend a mile away I walk - that way I can have a few beers and get a bit of exersize. If i need a couple of things I walk to the cornershop. If i need some more stuff I walk 1/2 a mile to the nearest supermarket. It's a good antidote to stress after a difficult day, to walk a bit. Once you get over the mental block that tells you if you go out of your front door you will automatically get in the car, it's really quite enjoyable. When you walk about you see things, you observe the richness of life .

I appreciate that if you live on the **** end of a mountain, this may not apply, but then you probably don't have traffic jams in any case.

unclebuck

Absolute piffle Where are the statistics that prove that?

School run seems to be mainly about women showing off how much of their poor long suffering husband's money they get to spend, which is measured by how big, shiney, and pointless their 4 x 4s are.

It's all a bit ironic really. They claim they value their kids' futures, but seem hell bent on doing as much as possible to deplete the resources and pollute the environment that these kids will inherit.

pugoetru

why is the world a dangerous place nowadays?


because there are so many fekin 4x4s taking their kids to school thats why

there have always been rapists paedophiles etc always will be

my kids walk to school nothing will change that.

mwp

- LAZY (either to walk or get out of bed earlier)
- mother has job to go to and drops them off on way
- too much disposable income to spend on car and petrol

combination of above covers most round where i live in typical low-unemployment market town.

Can't be fixed unless you introduce some sort of draconian parking laws near schools to force walking/bus. It's a free world so you just have to live with it until it organically chnages in the same way it started.

... next

Puff The Magic Wagon!

iTrader: (2)

'cos my little girl is 4 & its 8 miles to get to the school from here.

Even when she can ride on her own, we'll be taking her by car 'cos the roads are too narrow, too hilly, too busy etc & bascally too far.

imlach

Right - here's some hard evidence

Back in 1978 when me & mate were walking to primary school (we were 8), we got stopped by an old man in a long coat (no joke). He asked us lots of wierd questions, and we thought nothing more of it. 1 hour later, me & mate were in headmistresses office getting quizzed by coppers about this very man. He was picked up with a knife in his pocket.

However, even though everyone in school & parents knew, we both still walked to school the next day (it was 1.5 miles).

In 1979, we were warned about some guy in a beige Austin maxi driving about suspisciously - with a cowboy hat in back parcel shelf. We saw him, he slowed down, and he drove off.

However, even though everyone in school & parents knew, we both still walked to school the next day (it was 1.5 miles).

Both the above seem dodgy, and probably were, but life went on. Everyone still walked to school.

Point being, if it was TODAY, this would be ALL over the papers, and NO-ONE would be walking to school even although the risk is very very tiny of child abduction. There is MORE chance of your kid being run down by the increase in 4x4s on the roads cos everyone is driving to school.

Make them walk!!

I was TOTALLY EMBARASSED to get picked up at school by mum when at school. Kids today are too soft, and protected from the big bad world too much.
The world is NO badder than it was when you ALL were kids. FACT. I remember BAD people (be it peers, adults, whoever).

imlach

AudiMan said
I take my two kids to school (8 & 10) as I think the world is a much more dangerous place than when I was there (20yrs ago), also the fact that Milly Dowler was found less than 2 miles from their school reinforces my opinion.
BRING BACK THE DEATH SENTENCE FOR CONVICTED CHILD KILLERS....

You *think* the world is much more dangerous because :
1) You're a big grown up now and are aware of the news - you probably didn't care about murders more than 1 mile from your house when 8 years old - ok, you'd maybe heard of the Yorkshire Ripper, but that was probably it. Name a child killer in the media when you were at school - there would have been MANY - and name some now - you could probably reel off a few names - point proven.

2) You have kids you want to protect so you are more aware of media stories about child abduction.