h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Who's idea was it to run children to school-childeren who live feet from the school?

I can understand it when people have jobs to go to-and/or live a distance from the school-but my house is walled in by cars in the morning-and I find it almost impossible to get out of the carpark-with cars from further up my street!

For everyone's health and mental health-can't kids walk to school-accompanied by a set of parents/older family???

It's a big prob.

I took a job 12.5 miles from home. To go to the interviews it took me 30 mins. I started the job at the end of July 2002. Come September, and all the schools back to work, it took me up to 1 hour and 5 minutes. Many four wheel drive vehicles are on the road: the aggressive sporty models and the passenger wagons. They often seem to have the one adult driver and one child passenger, enjoying the landscape from up on high.
In a world of a well publicised child obesity problem, why can't they walk to school?
On day one for one school I actually saw a child riding her pony, accompanied by her walking mother and the family dog. In an environment where I am not queueing behind the endless cars, I'd have enjoyed the scene and thought "Good on you for the treat." But, queueing behind those endless cars, I simply thought "Yet another indulgence."
I don't let school run drivers out from junctions. They can wait for me - I'm on my way to work. And, as happened today folks, you can flash your lights at me, but it won't turn me into a benevolent driver.
Start to use your feet and I'll have more respect for you. I always give way to pedestrians, cyclists and horses.

My cousin is a member of staff at a nursery in a more affluent are of my home town and the other day I was sat waiting for her to pop out as I had an xmas present that she had asked a member of the family to pick up for her.

When I arrived and pulled up there was no traffic in the vicinity save for that passing on the nearby main road. But by around ten minutes before the place turfed the richlings out into the arms of their parents the place was awash with Range Rovers, Land Rover Discoverys, Jeep Grand Cherokees and a cornucopia of people carriers.

Dispite the reported boom in world population most of these people were picking up just the one child!

Lunacy!

Did you ask any of them if they were then picking up another child from a totally different school in another location and then taking both home? Or perhaps they live several miles from the daycare facility. I get the impression here that it is somehow thought that kids in daycare are all rich, but it isn't necessarily so, working parents come from all sectors of society...

If you have one small child do you let them wander a couple of miles on their own to school? Of course not! You drop them off on your way to work (no time to walk there and back and then get to work). If you don't work then there isn't really an excuse for driving them to school I suppose. Interestingly, I saw a thing on the news where adults took it in turns to do a walking school bus - they would end up herding a great crowd of kids on foot into school. I thought that was a fantastic idea and each child in the walking bus represents one less car on the school run and one more child getting some exercise.

Once they are old enough and sensible enough and are aware of their own saftey then buy all means let them walk on their own, or buy them a bike if you are a couple of miles from the school. You might think again if there are dangerous roads in between home and school though...

As with everything else there are always complications

k

The kids in that area are bloody rolling in it, believe me!

I think my beef stems from the fact that the vehicles used are inefficient off-road monstrocities or people-carriers the size of a double-decker bus.

Of course you wouldn't make a small child walk home on their own, but you could pick them up on the back of a bike, meet them and take them home on public transport, etc.

But I do concede that this could have been the first stop on the way to collect more of the drivers larva from other depositories. And that the parent's could have been running the infant equivalent of a car-pool.

believe me-EVERY example I see is done through sheer laziness-I know the parents and their circumstances.

they'd just rather clog my car park than move their fat s and wander down the street on Shank's pony

Vitriol!

Where I actually live it is far less affluent and you can see groups of children walking to school - mainly teenagers.

The route I take to work is far more affluent and I often see the four wheel drive sporty model or people carrier with the one adult, (usually the female driver), and the one child, (again teenager).

Add to this, in the weather conditions of early Jan: mummy on the mobile phone and I can't see the lights on the vehicle behind me, as it's far too close. Ooh, mummy may be having a fag as well, so I'm hoping the vehicle is automatic. But it's not, I can see she's not got one hand on the wheel at this precise moment, and we're all braking in this queue. Help!

When did driving ever become so bad? And why?

And when did we lose that sense of community that kept us safe, looking out for one another.

I'll take this opportunity praise my neighbours. They keep a watch on my property when I am away and take in parcels. They know when they haven't seen me for a couple of days and check if I'm OK. If I am actually ill, they offer to get me something, if needed.
These neighbours also look out for their children but use their cars sensibly. If it's light and walking is possible then so be it.

What future for the child in the people carrier with a distracted mummy. Hopefully the school fees cover some psychotherapy to ensure integration into society.

The issue is related to insular nature of modern society. We see the outsider as a danger and only feel safe in the cocoon of the cars we drive.

yep-it's the whole-

fat ass=lack of security thang...hehehehehe.

sorry-I just ate a very firey chilli there-never again

Could do with one of those, it's bloody freezing outside.