With the new school year rapidly approaching the survey uncovered some revealing results, with well over half of motorists questioned (57%) having spotted illegal parking outside school gates, raising safety fears.
Other results showed that 46 per cent believe the walk to school is too long, necessitating the school-run drive, with over a third (38 per cent) saying this is exacerbated by unreliable public transport. The research shows that driving children to school is a necessity for many families, not only for child safety concerns but also due to the absence of a school bus service or the logistics of getting different children to different schools.
Almost half of motorists (44 per cent) have seen parents and children open car doors outside the school gates without checking oncoming traffic, with over half believing schools should create drop-off areas to alleviate both safety concerns and traffic congestion. Further safety concerns come from the revelation that 35 per cent of motorists questioned have seen parents drop their children off at school by letting them out of the car into traffic, rather than on the pavement side. Some 29 per cent think Police should do more to tackle illegal parking outside schools.
The study showed children in Northern Ireland are most likely to be driven to school at 51 per cent, almost twice as likely as the lowest figure of 26 per cent in the South East.
BCA’s Tim Naylor said: "It's clear from our survey that the stresses of the school run are getting motorists hot under the collar. And there are potentially dangerous choices being made by some drivers when it comes to double parking outside the school gates and ‘drop and go' tactics that leave pupils having to negotiate busy roads before reaching the safety of the school. Driving in the rush hour is always stressful and the school run just adds to the congestion, with many motorists seeing parents and children taking what they perceive to be unnecessary risks. Perhaps that's why motorists were supportive of new measures to tackle congestion and parking issues that would make the environment safer for the school run."
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