Children's journey to school. A questionnaire survey on travel behaviour and traffic safety among children

In February and May 2002, 6900 pupils in the primary school in Norway were asked about their journey to school and how they experienced traffic safety. The results show that most children (47 percent) travel to school by foot. Still, as many as 26 percent of the children are driven to school in private car even when travel distance is as low as 0,5 to 1 kilometre. While most of the children experience their journey to school as being safe, the parents are a bit more worried; 55 percent are slightly or highly worried about their children being involved in a traffic accident. A multivariate logistic regression analysis shows that besides background variables such as distance to school, time of year and car ownership, the feeling of safety and children’s own attitudes play an important role in predicting whether children are taken to school by car.