Car columns, double parking and risky turning maneuvers are often part of everyday life in front of schools. According to an ADAC survey, around one in five children is dropped off in their car in front of school in the morning. “That may seem understandable from the parents’ point of view, but the chaos in front of the school poses a certain security risk,” says ADAC spokesman Andreas Hölzel. The so-called parent taxis have been a controversial topic for years: they are dangerous, harmful to the environment and deprive children of their independence, is often criticized.
“The potential for danger depends heavily on the local conditions,” says Heiner Sothmann from the German Traffic Watch. “But the cause is usually a space problem, because many cars just want to be in one place at the same time. If the school is now on a particularly narrow street or in an area with heavy traffic, there will inevitably be conflicts.”
There would also be time pressure, since the offspring have to be in the classroom on time and the parents may have to go to work themselves. “Unfortunately, tense nerves, impatience, stress and hectic pace often lead to carelessness and aggressive behavior,” says Sothmann.
The traffic police and the ADAC are therefore appealing to parents to introduce their own children to road traffic at an early age and to let them walk to school independently. “It is also in the interest of the students if they become independent road users at an early stage,” says Hölzel. “The earlier they learn this, the safer children and later adults will be on the road.”
What sounds plausible at first, however, has a crucial catch: it is not equally easy for families to do without the parents’ taxi everywhere. “We have to make a very clear distinction between town and country,” says the chairwoman of the Federal Parents’ Council, Christiane Gotte, of the German Press Agency. In the cities, where local public transport (ÖPNV) is well developed and most families are well connected, school transport is usually not a problem. “At this point you just have to make the parents even more aware of environmental protection and the existing infrastructure,” says Gotte.
In rural areas, however, the situation is completely different. The nearest bus stop is not always easy to reach, and public transport is often only free from a certain distance between school and home. “The parents’ taxi is of course the cheapest and most comfortable option,” says Gotte. “Particularly in poorly connected districts, parents drive to work anyway, since using public transport would usually more than double the travel time.” Dropping the child off at school on the way there goes without saying.
With a petition, the Federal Parents’ Council demands from the federal government that schoolchildren throughout Germany can use public transport free of charge. Because there are big differences between the federal states with regard to school transport and the corresponding assumption of costs. For many families there is no financial incentive to send the child to school by public transport.
But the situation in the buses themselves deters many parents. “The school buses are hopelessly overcrowded. There are students who can’t find a seat, even over longer distances of 20 to 30 minutes,” explains Gotte. Due to this stress, bullying-like attacks on the buses are not uncommon. “There are parents who say they want to protect their children and that’s why they bring them in the car.”
According to a recently published ADAC survey, 59 percent of the parents surveyed believe that dangerous traffic situations arise when too many cars stop in front of schools. Even 41 percent of parents who regularly drive their children to school see it that way. In the warm months, 17 percent of the children are mainly brought to school by car, in autumn and winter 22 percent.
“The parents’ taxi is not always avoidable,” says DVW spokesman Sothmann. But the chaos in front of the school gate can be avoided. “If you absolutely have to take your child to school by car, you can still let them get off at a safe place some distance away and let them cover the rest of the way on their own.” The ADAC also recommends so-called fetch and bring zones in this context.
Sothmann says that it is important to train the children intensively beforehand on how to get to school. “Then the parents can quickly see what the offspring can do.” In some federal states, parents still have some time to do this before school starts.
