Comments on: Back-to-School Season Brings Bike-to-School Bans

By: Saratogaguy

Saratogaguy — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 19:03:43 +0000

Saratoga Springs NY school district has a ban agains middle school students walking or biking to school.

http://www.saratogian.com/articles/2009/09/14/news/doc4aada71020507442523775.txt

they cite the risk of injury to the children.... It is hard to quantify the risk to childern become obese, or develop diabetes because of a a lifetime of inactivity

By: The Opoponax

The Opoponax — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 20:08:13 +0000

You joke, CF, but I know parents that chose to upgrade to an SUV when they had kids because "it's safer that way".

I also know quite a few people who don't think a compact car is sufficient to carry out most of the functions of a motor vehicle, such as carrying passengers or driving on the interstate.

By: CF

CF — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 08:28:35 +0000

This is so sad. In the next 10 years: “You can only bring your children to school in a Humvee. Only 1 child per vehicle, to prevent molestation”.

”The M1A1 Abrams tank is an acceptable alternative.”

“Cars are simply not safe.”

By: Bryant Turnage

Bryant Turnage — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 18:33:02 +0000

Yet these same schools will almost certainly include curriculum that teaches their students about our impact on the environment and the causes of global warming. They'll encourage the kids to go home and make sure their parents recycle and don't leave the tap running while they brush their teeth. If funding hasn't been cut, they'll even be taught the importance of healthy eating habits and exercise for their long-term health. Yet some school systems will encourage the children to abandon healthy and generally safe habits like walking or biking to school, instead insisting they ride buses or, more likely, have mom or dad drive them in a two-ton, carbon-spewing death machine. This country never ceases to amaze me.

By: Dave Reid

Dave Reid — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 18:05:46 +0000

This is just so backwards.

By: SteveL

SteveL — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 09:16:32 +0000

In the UK they have a govt supported group trying to encourage walking, cycling to school: http://www.walktoschool.org.uk/ -my 7 year olds school had a walk week where you get a sticker every day you walk (or cycle) in, the staff encouraged it. Even for those people who drove a distance, the school tried to make you park further away and walk in.

While it may seem ironic to have a single week a year where everyone walks in -compared to my own youth, 30 years ago- at least they are trying.

When I cycle in, the hazard spots are near the schools, so the less people driving to school, the safer the pedestrians and bikes are. This is what the schools should be encouraging. Car-free zones near the school, for safer walking and cycling.

By: Hall Monitor

Hall Monitor — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 00:02:23 +0000

Why don't they just have an "Exercise Ban?"

Hall Monitor
http://detentionslip.org

By: Streetsman

Streetsman — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 19:38:19 +0000

"They are concerned about being held liable for anything that happens during the trip to and/or from school." There is a misconception that if one feels they are liable for potential damages caused by someone's actions, then they must prohibit those actions in order to reduce exposure. Having worked with many lawyers I can tell you you can still limit your exposure simply by demonstrating an effort to prevent the damages. For example, the principal of school could issue a notice or have a one-day course about walking and cycling safely - then they would have their butts covered if anything happened, without going so far as to ban walking, which it is agreed is preposterous. Have our lives really become so auto-oriented that we are now required to use them for fear of the alternative? Reminds me of Jerry' Seinfeld's rant about people who stand on the people movers in airport terminals: "The other people I hate are the people that get onto the moving walkway and the just stand there. Like it's a ride. "Excuse me. There's no animated pirates or bears along the way here. DO YOUR LEGS WORK AT ALL?!!"

By: Andy Trafford

Andy Trafford — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 19:30:16 +0000

If the schools are that concerned with the safety of their students then maybe they could only allow students with an "Educated Cyclist" sticker to ride to school. And how do students get such a sticker? Well, our schools are still in the education business, right? I can think of nothing more important than teaching kids how to safely get to and from school. And I'm sure there are numerous organizations that would help schools run a cycling education program.

By: Mark Walker

Mark Walker — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 17:03:20 +0000

The walking ban is as shocking to me as the biking ban. My family has home movie footage of my Mom walking me to kindergarten. By the end of the school year, I was making the trip myself. My walk to high school was 45 minutes each way and I did it without complaint. No walking, no biking -- what a terrible message to implant in impressionable minds.

By: Andy Trafford

Andy Trafford — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 16:42:28 +0000

I wish I could delete that last message. The web sites I linked to are kinda pointless. They show how many kids die due to traffic, but don't include any breakdown of numbers for walking, cycling or being a car passenger. I stand by "Are they nuts?" though...

By: Andy Trafford

Andy Trafford — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 16:38:44 +0000

Are they nuts? The most dangerous place you can put a child is a car.

http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/factsheets/childpas.htm
http://www.the-eggman.com/writings/death_stats.html

By: Jonathan

Jonathan — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 16:35:19 +0000

It would be nice if there were some reported numbers attached to this alert. Right now, this seems kind of apocryphal, like New York City's epidemic of cyclist-on-pedestrian injuries.