School started in Williamson County, Tennessee, yesterday and it added what seems like millions of cars to the traffic problem. My commute to work increased from a leisurely 30 minutes to more than 45 minutes of bumper-to-bumper traffic! It’s not that my time is so valuable, but it makes me wonder why all the cars? A friend of mine on his way to work had to make a left turn near a middle school entrance and counted 82 cars with moms, or dads, and kids turning into the school parking lot before one lonely bus entered carrying three kids. This school, as well as the high school near my home, are connected to many neighborhoods by a paved bike path – part of the city’s park system. Yet, I checked at the high school this morning and there wasn’t even a bike rack. And if anybody biked today they must have put their bikes in their lockers, as there were no bikes to be seen around the school. Is it any wonder that there are so many obese kids these days?
Of course parents worry about kidnapping, but the chance of getting killed in a car wreck on the way to school is much greater than the chance of being kidnapped. Of the 350,000 kidnappings done each year in the United States all most all are by a non-custodial parent, family member, or other “friend”. According to the Polly Klaas Foundation fewer that 100 United States kidnappings (1%) are by the stereotypical stranger. http://www.pollyklaas.org/about/national-child-kidnapping.html .
What’s wrong with taking the bus? With all the emphasis these days on environment I would think there would be hundreds of conservationists picketing the school’s parking lots! Sure, buses pollute too, but no bus can produce the emissions of the 40 -60 cars it takes for parents to drive a bus full of their precious bundles to school.
As long as I’m ranting, let me ask why do high school kids need to drive to school. The pat answer is that they have extra-curricular activities after school and can’t take the bus. At first glance that’s a valid reason. But why not have another bus leave the school after the extra-curricular activities? I know schools where this is an effective system. Now tell me kids have to have a car to get to work after school. I’ll grant you that; but ask them why the need to work most kids will tell you to pay for their car or their insurance. Why not let the kids be kids for awhile before burdening them with financial matters? I strengthen my argument by mentioning the increased rate of teen motor vehicular accidents. How many of us know of a teen (or two), who was killed in a MVA on the way to or from school. I do!
So my resolve today is to try to persuade parents to encourage their kids to take the bus, bike, or walk to school; and try to persuade school boards (or perhaps Band Parents and Quarterback Clubs) to provide a late bus. It will save money, decrease air pollution, but most importantly it will save teenager’s lives.