KidsWalk: Then and Now
(by Christina Kober, Clemson University 2004)
Thirty years ago, the sight of children walking or biking to school was common, but now it is
hard to find a child walking or biking to school. Since 1970 the rates have declined dramatically.
Why the drastic decline?
Studies have indicated several perceived barriers (Dellinger 2002, Belden 2003).
Parents of schoolchildren most commonly report: distance to school, traffic danger,
adverse weather conditions, fear of child being abducted, and crime in the
neighborhood as barriers to active transport (i.e., walking or biking to school).
But how did these perceived barriers come to be so insurmountable over such a short time
period? And what may be the consequences of less walking and biking to school?
We know little about the actual consequences of less walking and biking to school as few
studies have been conducted, but we can take a look at what has been happening
concurrently over the last 30 years.
Here’s a look at what has happened...
Active transport to school: 1969 National Personal Transportation Survey (NPTS) versus
2001 National Household Transportation Survey (NHTS)
% of students
Fig 1. Active Transport to School
100
80
60
40
20
0
87
59
42
15
49
1969
13
2001
walk/bike walk/bike walk/bike
any
< 1 mile <2 mile
distance
Source: http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/ohim/1969/1969page.htm and
http://nhts.ornl.gov/2001/index.shtml (analyzed by S. Ham DNPA 2004)
Meanwhile …
1.
More moms are working
In 1960, 38% of all women work, but few with young children
In 2000, 61% of women work, including 2/3rds of women with young children
(under age 6). Source: US Census
2.
More cars are on the road
In 1977, percent of households with no vehicles and households with more
than three vehicles were almost equal.
In 1995, however, percent of households owning more than 3 vehicles were
double that of households owning no vehicles.
Fig 2. Car ownership
25
19.1
20
15.7 15.3
15
0 vehicles
8.1
10
3+ vehicles
5
0
1977
1995
Source: Pickrell & Schimek, 1998
3.
Asthma rates among children have gone up
per 1,000
Fig 3. Asthma Prevalence for
Children ages 5-14 years
100
80
60
40
20
0
82
63.7
45.1
50.9
1980
1985
1990
1995
Source: Mannino et al, 2002
4.
Obesity rates among children have gone up
Fig 4. Prevalence of Overweight
among Children and Adolescents
20
1515 1616
15
10
5
1111
45
4
6
7
5
6-11 yrs
12-19 yrs
0
1963- 1971- 1976- 1988- 1999- 200170
74
80
94
00
02*
Source: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/pubs/pubd/hestats/overwght99.htm
*Hedley et al, 2004
5.
TV ownership and TV’s in the bedroom have gone up
a) TV in household: 3 or more sets
b) TV in bedroom: 6th graders
Fig 5. TV sets in the home
100
80
60
Percent
40
20
0
1970
1999
6th graders
with TV in
bedroom
homes with 3
or more TV
sets
Source: Rideout et al, 1999
Now, back to those barriers…did they change over time, or did the public’s threshold lower?
1. Distance
a) Between 1940 and 1990 the number of elementary and secondary schools have
dropped from 200,000 to 62,000—despite a 70% increase in population
(Schools, LGC). This results in schools being further from home for many
students; in other words, this barrier did change over time.
b) From 1969 to 2001, distance to school has changed*
Fig 6a. Distance to School, NPTS 1969
33
34
< 1mile
1.0 - 1.9 mi.
2.0 - 2.9 mi.
3+ miles
15
18
Fig 6b. Distance to School, NPTS 2001
21
< 1mile
1.0 - 1.9 mi.
50
14
2.0 - 2.9 mi.
3+ miles
15
* However, the percentage of kids that live with in one mile, even two miles of
school are walking and biking a lot less (see figure 1)
2. Weather (Figures 7a and 7b)
Average Annual Temperature
Degrees Fahrenheit
70
Boston, MA
60
Nashville, TN
San Francisco, CA
Topeka, KS
50
40
1970
1980
1990
2000
Days of Precipitation per Year
100
Days
80
Boston, MA
Nashville, TN
60
San Francisco, CA
Topeka, KS
40
20
1970
1980
1990
2000
Source: National Climatic Data Center
Seems as though the weather hasn’t changed much, especially not in a way that would limit
walking and biking to school between 1969 and 2001. The temperature is about the same
(1970 -2000) and precipitation varies by decade, though the average precipitation among
these 4 cities is about the same in 1970 as it is in 2000.
3. Fear of child being abducted
a)
Kidnapping makes up less than 2% of all violent crimes against juveniles.
b)
There are three types of kidnappings against children, family, acquaintance, and
stranger. Over ¾ of kidnappings are by someone the child knows or is related
to.
c)
The Office of Juvenile Justice has found very few (4%) of all kidnappings
against juveniles occur in the vicinity of a school.
Source: Finklehor & Ormrod, 2000
4. Traffic
The average number of hours Americans spent in traffic in 1982 was 7 hours per year;
this number has more than tripled by 2001 with 26 hours per year (Schrank & Lomax,
2003).

The number of cars on the road between 7:15 and 8:15 a.m. jumps 30% during
the school year (Travel and Environmental Implications of School Siting, 2003).

20-25% of morning traffic is parents driving kids to school (Kallins, SR2S)
Taken together, these facts suggest that indeed, the traffic barrier has changed over time.
The next question is, had this traffic change caused an increase in pedestrian deaths or
injuries?
Figure 8 shows the percent of young pedestrians (age 5-15 years) out of the total number of
youth killed or injured in traffic related incidents. As shown, the percentage has actually
dropped over time, though the same data are not available for 30 years ago.
Pedestrian Deaths and Injuries
1995 22.4%
Pedestrian Deaths
2002 16.3%
1995 7.7%
2002 6.2%
Pedestrian Injuries
Source: Traffic Safety Facts, 2002; Traffic Safety Facts, 1995
Other Traffic Problems
a. 50% of children hit by cars near schools are by cars driven by parents of
students (Kallins, SR2S)
b. In 1999, a national Safe Kids Campaign survey found 2/3 of drivers
exceeded the posted speed limit in school zones during the 30-minute
period before and after school. (National Safe Kids Campaign, 2002)
c. A national observational survey found that many motorists at
intersections in school zones and residential neighborhoods violated
stop signs (pedestrian injury fact sheet, 2004)
i. 45% by not coming to a complete stop
ii. 37% by rolling through
iii. 7% by not even slowing down
What do we do? Where do we turn?
While the society ills of sedentary lifestyles and traffic congestion are mounting, it is time to address
the barriers that have changed over time (distance and traffic danger).
As for distance, some possible solutions are to bring back neighborhood schools. Some
states are already working to restore neighborhood schools rather than build larger ones on
the outskirts of town. An interim solution is to establish meeting places within a mile to
school and create Walking School Busses where adults can accompany groups of children
walking to school.
As for traffic danger, some possible solutions include:
a. Enforced Speed Zones (Kallins, SR2S)
Lowered speed zones: Reduced child pedestrian casualties by 70%
b. Traffic Calming
Speed humps: Speed humps were associated with a 53-60%
reduction in the odds of injury or death among children struck by
an automobile in their neighborhood. (Tester et al, 2004)
c. Use active transport to school to relieve traffic congestion.
Policy may provide another useful strategy …
But, according to a survey conducted in 1999, 7% of schools have policies that restrict
children from walking or biking to school. This restriction results in more students being
driven to school which only increased the traffic danger barrier further. The irony is that
most of the traffic danger comes from the additional automobiles on the road, especially
before and after school around the school grounds.
Instead of using policy to prohibit walking and biking to school, it is time to create policy
and craft environmental changes that make walking and biking to school safe again (e.g,.
limiting automobiles on school grounds, establishing and enforcing slower speed limits,
installing speed humps, installing walking paths, hiring crossing guards). The task before the
country is large, but surely not insurmountable. Creating “Safe Routes to School” is possible
and is becoming a national movement. Check out our link to resources for ideas in your
community.
References
Beaumont, Constance. (2003). State Policies & School Facilities: How States can Support or
Undermine Neighborhood Schools & Community Preservation. National Trust for Historic
Preservation. May 2003.
Dellinger, A. (2002). Barriers to Children Walking and Biking to School—United States, 1999.
MMWR. 51(32) 701-704. August 2002.
Finklehor, D; Ormrod, R. (2000). Kidnapping of Juveniles: Patterns from NIBRS. Juvenile Justice
Bulletin. U.S. Department of Justice: Office of Justice Programs: Office of Juvenile Justice
and Delinquency Prevention. June 2000.
Hedley AA, Ogden CL, Johnson CL, Carroll MD, Curtin LR, Flegal KM. Prevalence of overweight
and obesity among US children, adolescents, and adults, 1999-2002. JAMA. 2004 Jun
16;291(23):2847-50.
Kallins, Wendy. Safe Routes to School. US Department of Transportation: National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration.
Mannino, D; Homa, D; Akinbami, L; Moorman, J; Gwynn, C; Redd, S. (2002). Surveillance for
Asthma—1980-1999. MMWR: CDC Surveillance Summaries. v51nSS-1. March 29, 2002.
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/PDF/SS/SS5101.pdf
National Safe Kids Campaign: Promoting Child Safety to Prevent Unintentional Injury.
Research: Child Pedestrian Safety: The Problem. (2002).
http://www.safekids.org/tier3_cd.cfm?content_item_id=7570&folder_id=680
Pedestrian Injury Fact Sheet. National SAFE KIDS Campaign (NSKC). Washington DC: NSKC,
2004. www.safekids.org/tier3_cd.cfm?content_item_id=1150&folder_id540
Pickrell, D; Schimek, P. (1998). Trends in Personal Motor Vehicle Ownership and Use: Evidence
from the Nationwide Personal Transportation Survey. Nationwide Personal Transportation
Survey—1995. April 1998.
Rideout, V; Foehr, U; Roberts, D; Brodie, M. (1999). Kids & Media: The New Millennium. A Kaiser
Family Foundation Report. November 1999.
Schrank, D; Lomax, T. (2003). The 23rd Annual Urban Mobility Report. Texas Transportation
Institute. September 2003.
http://tti.tamu.edu/product/catalog/reports/mobility_report_2003.pdf
Tester, J; Rutherford, G; Wald, Z; Rutherford, M. (2004). A Matched Case—Control Study
Evaluating the Effectiveness of Speed Humps in Reducing Child Pedestrian Injuries.
American Journal of Public Health. v94n4. April 2004.
Traffic Safety Facts 1995—Pedestrians. (1995). National Center for Statistics and Analysis of the National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration. www.nhtsa.dot.gov
Traffic Safety Facts 2002—Pedestrians. (2002). National Center for Statistics and Analysis of the National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration. DOT HS 809 614. 2002. www.nhtsa.dot.gov