Biking to school: Controversial

Free Range Kids blogs reports on the same old same old situation of a school banning bike riding and asks why biking to school became ‘controversial,’ this time in Arlington, MA (near Boston).

And so it goes: Common sense — and the fact that this is one of the bikingest places in America — would seem to suggest that biking is not a terrible, crazy, death-defying idea. And yet the “What if???” brigade will always have its say. I agree: WE DO NOT WANT KIDS BEING MOWED DOWN BY MINIVANS! But here’s a great stat that I state in my book, too: HALF of all the kids injured by cars near schools are injured by cars dropping off OTHER kids at the school. So if we just scaled back on the chauffeuring, we’d already have a much safer route to school.

More at Free Range Kids: Why is this radical?

2 Comments

  1. I think the “half” number is much too low. Wouldn't surprise me if 80% or more of the drivers who hit students on bikes are parents of other students.

  2. Arlington Mass, another place I used to live doing something stupid.

    There is an awesome separated bike path going the length of town, fer chrissakes. How could they come up with this hooey.

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