This is a survey report about parents’ opinions on the safety issues they and their children might face when travelling to and from school. The report is based on a survey of 2,019 people who have primary care responsibilities for children between 0 and 18. Only people who care for children aged 4-11, and whose children attended school, were eligible to complete the survey.
Respondents were asked to respond to questions in relation to their children aged 4-11. The survey was conducted in May 2023 by independent research agency, Surveygoo.
This survey report is published as more than 100,000 children from 700+ schools take part in Brake's Kids Walk to shout out for their right to make safe and healthy journeys. Brake's Kids Walk 2023 is sponsored by esure.
What did parents and carers tell us?
Key findings:
- More than half of children (56%) often or always walk to school
- 68% of parents would like their children to walk, cycle or scoot to school more often
- 59% believe that the most beneficial reason for walking to school is exercise
- 36% say roads are too busy for their children to walk to school; 25% say traffic is too fast
- 64% of schools don’t have 20mph speed limits on all surrounding roads
- 43% say traffic is too fast, even on roads with a 20mph limit
- Illegal parking around schools is a problem for more than half of parents (53%)
- 33% of parents have contacted a local councillor or MP about a road safety issue near school; another 30% want to do so
Where we live
In question 1, we wanted to understand the types of areas in which parents and carers and their children live and go to school.
The majority of respondents (60%) told us they live in an urban area (38% within a town; 22% in city suburbs), with the remaining 39% describing the area in which they live as rural (a hamlet, village or rural town). These figures corresponded closely with the areas in which their children’s school was based. This suggests that most people live in the same type of environment as the one in which their children go to school, which is corroborated by the answers to question 2.
Data from question 1
Q1 Please describe the type of area that you live in and that your child(ren) go to school in
We live in a
- Rural: Hamlet (a small settlement, smaller than a village and without a church) - 3%
- Rural: Village (a group of houses, larger than a hamlet, smaller than a town) - 14%
- Rural: Town and fringe (an area on the outskirts of an urban town, or a town in a rural setting) - 23%
- Urban: Town - 38%
- Urban: City suburbs - 22%
Our child(ren)'s school is based in a
- Rural: Hamlet (a small settlement, smaller than a village and without a church) - 2%
- Rural: Village (a group of houses, larger than a hamlet, smaller than a town) - 15%
- Rural: Town and fringe (an area on the outskirts of an urban town, or a town in a rural setting) - 22%
- Urban: Town - 40%
- Urban: City suburbs - 22%
In 2021, 11,580 children aged 15 or under were killed or injured on roads in the UK in 2021; an average taken from the last five years gives a figure of 13,503 [1]. This means that, on average, 37 children die or suffer injuries as a result of road crashes every single day. Provisional figures for 2022 show that 48 children died on roads in the UK, or one child almost every week [2,3].
How we travel to school
In question 2, we turned our attention to the distance children travel to get to school.
The majority (84%) of people we questioned told us they live less than two miles from their children’s school, while more than half (55%) told us their journey is one mile or less.
It seems that for a significant number of respondents, the distance between school and home is not a significant barrier to choosing to walk, cycle or scoot to school.
Data from question 2
Q2 What is the distance from your house to your child(ren)’s school:
- Less than 0.5 miles - 26%
- Between 0.5 and 1 mile - 29%
- 1-2 miles - 28%
- 3-5 miles - 12%
- 6-10 miles - 3%
- More than 10 miles - 1%
Travelling to and from school...
31%
always walk to school
31%
always go by car to school
3%
cycle to school every day
In question 3, we wanted to look more closely at the ways families travel to and from school. Do parents choose to walk, cycle or scoot to school with their children?
Almost a third (31%) of respondents told us their children always walk to school, while 25% said they often walk. Similar numbers always (31%) or often (21%) travel to school by car. By contrast, only 3% told us they cycle to school every day. Almost three-quarters (71%) said their children rarely or never cycle to school, compared with just 25% who rarely or never walk.
Parents and carers in Northern Ireland were most likely to rely on a car, with 48% of respondents saying their children always travel to school by car, compared with the national average of 31%. This may reflect the longer distances children travel to school in Northern Ireland, where 50% of schools are in rural areas and only 39% of children travel a mile or less to school, compared with the national average of 55%.
(It should be noted that the sample size for Northern Ireland was the smallest for this survey, with parents from the region representing less than 3% of survey respondents.).
Overall, relatively small numbers of children appear to go to school by bus regularly, with 14% using a school bus and 13% using a public bus service always or often. Children in London are most likely to get to school using public transport on a regular basis (30% use the bus and 12% use the train, compared with national averages of 13% and 4%, respectively). This may reflect access to public transport networks in the capital compared with other regions.
Data from question 3
Q3 How does your child(ren) travel to and from school?
Car/van
- Always - 31%
- Often - 21%
- Sometimes - 17%
- Rarely - 13%
- Never - 19%
Walk
- Always - 31%
- Often - 25%
- Sometimes - 19%
- Rarely - 10%
- Never - 15%
Bicycle
- Always - 3%
- Often - 10%
- Sometimes - 15%
- Rarely - 13%
- Never - 58%
Scooter
- Always - 2%
- Often - 9%
- Sometimes - 16%
- Rarely - 13%
- Never - 60%
Public bus
- Always - 4%
- Often - 9%
- Sometimes - 10%
- Rarely - 8%
- Never - 69%
School bus
- Always - 7%
- Often - 7%
- Sometimes - 7%
- Rarely - 5%
- Never - 74%
Train
- Always - 1%
- Often - 3%
- Sometimes - 3%
- Rarely - 5%
- Never - 88%
Tram
- Always - 2%
- Often - 3%
- Sometimes - 3%
- Rarely - 5%
- Never - 87%
Motorbike
- Always - 1%
- Often - 2%
- Sometimes - 4%
- Rarely - 3%
- Never - 89%
Horse
- Always - 1%
- Often - 2%
- Sometimes - 2%
- Rarely - 1%
- Never - 94%
We speak to lots of schools where teachers are doing everything they can to make the roads near their school safe, but ultimately they need support from their local council and decision-makers. Why do we have to wait until a child is killed before we act?
Lucy Straker, campaigns manager, Brake
What stops your children from walking, cycling or scooting to school more often?
36%
'Roads are too busy'
25%
'Traffic is too fast'
19%
'There are no safe crossing places'
Walking, cycling and scooting to school
In questions 4 and 5, we looked more closely at parents’ attitudes to active travel, asking if they would like their children to walk, cycle or scoot to school more often, and exploring the factors that enabled them or prevented them from doing so.
We found that more than two-thirds (68%) of parents would like their children to walk, cycle or scoot to school more often.
However, when we asked parents what stopped them from walking, cycling or scooting more often, we found that safety is an issue for many.
More than a third (36%) said it’s not safe to walk, cycle or scoot because roads are too busy, and a quarter (25%) said it’s not safe because traffic is too fast. A further 19% said there are no suitable crossings. Lack of suitable pavements (11%) or suitable cycle paths (12%) was also given as a reason, and 7% of parents said they are worried about levels of air pollution.
Almost a quarter (24%) said they don’t have time to walk, cycle or scoot and 17% said it is too far. Some are not able to walk, cycle or scoot because of a disability.
We then flipped the question to ask parents who don’t think their children should walk, cycle or scoot more often to give their reasons. The most popular reason given (by 39% of respondents) was that they think they already walk, cycle or scoot enough. However, safety is a big concern for many, with 35% telling us roads are too busy, and 21% saying traffic is too fast. Parents also told us there aren’t safe or suitable crossing places (15%), pavements (10%) or cycle paths (9%).
Data from question 4
Q4 Would you prefer your child(ren) to walk/cycle/scoot to and from school more often?
- Yes - 68%
- No - 22%
- Not sure - 10%
Data from question 5
Q5a What stops your child(ren) from walking/cycling/scooting more often?
- Not safe - the roads are too busy - 36%
- Not safe - the vehicles go too fast - 25%
- Not safe - no suitable crossings - 19%
- Concerned about levels of pollution 7%
- Not safe - there are no pavements/pavements are not suitable - 11%
- Not safe - there are no cycle paths/cycle paths are not suitable - 12%
- It is too far - 17%
- I don’t have enough time - 24%
- I am unable to walk/cycle/scoot with my child(ren) because of a disability - 4%
- My child(ren) is unable to walk/cycle/scoot because of a disability - 2%
- Other - 15%
Q5b Why don’t you think your child(ren) should walk/cycle/scoot more often?
- Not safe - the roads are too busy - 35%
- Not safe - the vehicles go too fast - 21%
- Not safe - no suitable crossings - 15%
- Concerned about levels of pollution - 5%
- Not safe - there are no pavements/pavements are not suitable - 10%
- Not safe - there are no cycle paths/cycle paths are not suitable - 9%
- It is too far - 23%
- I don’t have enough time - 5%
- I am unable to walk/cycle/scoot with my child(ren) because of a disability - 3%
- My child(ren) is unable to walk/cycle/scoot because of a disability - 4%
- I feel we already walk/cycle/scoot enough - 39%
- Other - 8%
Benefits of walking, cycling and scooting
For question 6, we turned our attention to the benefits of walking, cycling or scooting to school, asking parents to tell us what they think are the most beneficial reasons.
We asked them to rank the following in order from 1 (most beneficial) to 7 (least beneficial):
- Exercise
- Fresh air
- More environmentally friendly/reducing our impact on the environment
- Reducing the number of vehicles on the road
- More quality time together
- Save money
- Other
Exercise was the top choice for most respondents, with more than three-quarters (76%) ranking it first or second.
Fresh air was the next most popular benefit, ranked first or second by more than half of respondents (51%).
Reducing the impact on the environment was also a popular choice, ranked first or second by 29% of respondents.
Data from question 6
Q6 Which of the following do you think are the most beneficial reasons for your child(ren) walking/cycling/scooting more often? Rank them in the order of most benefit.
- Exercise - 59% ranked it first, 17% ranked it second
- Fresh air - 12% ranked it first, 39% ranked it second
- More environmentally friendly/reducing our impact on the environment - 13% ranked it first, 16% ranked it second
- Reducing the number of vehicles on the road - 5% ranked it first, 9% ranked it second
- More quality time together - 5% ranked it first, 10% ranked it second
- Save money - 5% ranked it first, 7% ranked it second
- Other - 1% ranked it first, 1% ranked it second
Are parents worried about the environment?
In question 7, we asked parents to give us their views on air pollution and reducing environmental impact.
We found that:
- 60% of parents told us they were concerned about air pollution levels around their child(ren)’s school
- 85% of parents agree that walking, cycling or scooting to school is an easy way to reduce the impact they and their children have on the environment
- 80% of parents would like their children to be able to walk to and from school every day.
Data from question 7
Q7 Please read the statements below and select how much you agree/disagree with each
I am concerned about the levels of air pollution around my child(ren)’s school:
- Strongly agree - 19%
- Agree - 41%
- Neither agree nor disagree - 26%
- Disagree - 12%
- Strongly disagree - 2%
Walking/cycling/scooting to school is an easy way to reduce the impact my children and I have on the environment:
- Strongly agree - 38%
- Agree - 47%
- Neither agree nor disagree - 12%
- Disagree - 2%
- Strongly disagree - 1%
I would like my child(ren) to be able to walk to and from school every day:
- Strongly agree - 42%
- Agree - 38%
- Neither agree nor disagree - 14%
- Disagree - 4%
- Strongly disagree - 1%
Speeds of traffic near schools
In question 8, we tried to build a picture of the speed of traffic on roads near schools.
About a third (32%) of parents said that all the roads around their children’s school have a speed limit of 20mph; 44% said that some of the roads were limited to 20mph. However, a fifth of respondents (20%) told us that none of the roads near their children’s school had a limit of 20mph.
64%
of schools don't have 20mph limits on all roads
Data from question 8
Q8 Do the roads around your child(ren)’s school have a speed limit of 20mph?
- Yes, all - 32%
- Yes, some - 44%
- No, none - 20%
- Not sure - 5%
As schools up and down the country take part in Brake’s Kids Walk to shout out for safe places to walk, with slow traffic, we’re calling for roads around every school to have 20mph speed limits – and other measures to reduce traffic speed – so children and their families can travel safely to and from school every day .
Lucy Straker, campaigns manager, Brake
Causes for concern
In question 9, we asked respondents to tell us what particular issues gave them cause for concern near their children’s school.
The behaviour of drivers near school is a particular concern for many. More than half (53%) said that cars parking illegally was a big issue. The second biggest cause for concern appears to be traffic speed: 43% of parents said traffic moves too fast near school, even on roads with 20mph speed limits.
A lack of safe places to cross near school is also a cause for concern, with 29% saying it is an issue; 30% are concerned there is no school crossing patrol.
Data from question 9
Q9 What issues do you see near your child(ren)’s school?
- Traffic moves too fast (even on roads that have 20mph speed limits) - 43%
- Traffic moves too fast (even though they are within the speed limit) - 28%
- There are no safe crossing places near the school - 29%
- There is no school crossing patrol - 30%
- Cars often park illegally - 53%
- Cars park legally but block safe walkways - 30%
- The pavements are not suitable - 12%
- There are points where there are no safe walkways - 12%
- There are no designated cycling/scooting routes - 22%
- There are no safe places to park nearby - 11%
- Other - 3%
Campaigning for change
At Brake, we believe every child has the right to make safe and healthy journeys where they live, without fear of danger from traffic. Brake’s Kids Walk helps children and their parents call for the things they need to enable their journeys to be safe.
In question 10, we asked parents if they have ever contacted their local councillor or MP about a road safety issue, and nearly two-thirds (63%) told us they have either made contact or want to.
Of the 33% who have been in touch with their councillor or MP, 13% told us that changes had subsequently been made. However, 15% said that nothing had been done and a further 5% said they had received a negative response.
Almost a third (30%) said that want to get in touch about a road safety issue.
33%
contacted their councillor or MP about road safety
Data from question 10
Q10 Have you ever contacted your local councillor/member of parliament about road safety issue(s) near your child(ren)’s school?
- Yes, and changes have been made - 13%
- Yes, and they replied but nothing has been done - 15%
- Yes, and they replied negatively - 5%
- No, but I want to - 30%
- No, I don’t need/want to - 34%
- Prefer not to say - 3%
References
- Department for Transport (2022) Reported road casualties in Great Britain: Annual Report 2021 and custom data set
- Department for Transport (2023) Reported road casualties in Great Britain: Provisional annual figures. Table RAS9102
- Police Service of Northern Ireland (2023) Road traffic collision statistics: 2022 fatal casualty figures
Brake's Kids Walk 2023 is sponsored by esure.
Thank you
to our sponsor - we couldn't do it without you!
