Useful statistics about the school run

• Children are losing freedoms that were once taken for granted: in 1971 seven out of ten seven year olds made their own way to school. Today, less than one in ten does.

• Unfortunately walking and cycling have both declined over the last ten years. Between 1985/97, the overall proportion of journeys on foot fell from 34% to 28%, and by bicycle from 2.4 to 1.6 per cent.

• 72% of all trips made are under five miles in length.

• The number of kilometre miles cycled has fallen from nearly 21 billion kilometres on public roads in 1951 to 4.4 billion kilometres in 1994.

• There has been an increase in car use for very short journeys between 1951 and 1994.

• From 1984 to 1994 the percentage of overweight boys in England nearly doubled from 5.4% to 9.0% and from 6.4% to 10% amongst girls. Researchers suggest that he rising trends are likely to be reflected in increases in adult obesity and associated ill health.

• In slow moving traffic, pollution levels are higher inside cars than outside.

• The take-up rate of School Travel Plans has increased from 38% in 1999 to 50% of authorities with at least one school that has implemented an STP. 62% of County Councils have at least one school that has implemented an STP. London Boroughs show the greatest improvement from 21% in 1999 to 48%.

• Where traffic is slowed down to 20mph children benefit dramatically. One Study found a 70% in accidents to Child pedestrians, while accidents to child cyclists fell by nearly half.

• Road traffic accidents in the European Union (EUR-15) annually claim more than 40 000 lifes and leave more than 1.7 million people injured, representing estimated costs, both direct and indirect, of 160 billion euro.

• In 2000, more than 135 children died and more than 4,000 were seriously injured while walking and cycling, many of them close to their homes, with child pedestrian casualties peaking at about the age of 12.

• Travel to school is of increasing concern. Roughly one in 5 cars on the road at peak time are "on the school run" and about 30% of children are taken to school in the car by their parents. This last figure has doubled in 20 years and whether through changes in lifestyle or fears about safety, the percentage is still on the increase.

• Following a school travel plan at Wheatfields Junior School, St Albans, the number of eight to nine year olds walking to school rose from 45% to 75%.

Statistics were sourced from a the 'Department for Transport', 'Sustrans', 'Europa European Commission', 'Think Child Road Safety' and 'School Travel Plans'.