In the morning and afternoon it is always very busy at primary schools, everywhere there are cars with parents who quickly drop off and pick up their children at school. It is actually a chaos of children, parents, cars and cyclists around the primary schools. Because of this chaos, it is absolutely not clear and also not safe around the primary schools. Veilig Verkeer Nederland (VVN) is therefore starting the campaign: Participation is easy. This campaign encourages parents to take their children to school by bicycle or on foot instead of by car. This is to create a better overview of the traffic around schools.

“Imagine the effect if everyone behaves a little bit safer on the road. When everyone puts their smartphone away while driving, when everyone gives each other space, when everyone switches on their lights. It's hardly any trouble for an individual road user, but it will have a major effect if we do all of this ”, says Evert-Jan Hulshof, director of Safe Traffic Netherlands.

They also call on other motorists to avoid school zones. Walking or cycling to school would make the school environment a lot safer and children also gain practical experience. Research shows that in three years (2014-2017) no fewer than 10.000 traffic accidents occurred around schools. Eighty percent of the students live within a radius of 3 kilometers from school, so walking or cycling is a good alternative to the car. Research by VVN shows that only 33 percent of Dutch people think traffic is safe for their children.

“We know that parents mainly drive their children to school by car and then be able to drive to work in one go. Now that people work from home more, this is less relevant. In addition, working from home often saves time due to the loss of commuter traffic: plenty of opportunities to bring children to school by bike or on foot more often, "said Evert-Jan Hulshof, director Safe Traffic Netherlands.

Also read: ANWB campaign: Every child safely on the bike