This paper describes research to examine closely the journey to infant schools in the Portsmouth area, demonstrating some of the typical problems to be found around infant schools across the UK. Parents tend to take their children to the nearest infant school and they are usually within easy walking distance. The importance of reducing the number of parents taking their children to school is stressed. A number of factors are considered that make addressing transport problems difficult, these include "unintended consequences", social traps, coping mechanisms, "safety" and "danger" in numbers and the herd immunity. Methods of making the streets safer for children are examined. This would help the move towards more the move towards more sustainable transport and facilitate an efficient means of reducing road accidents.
Abstract