Parents fight for safe way to school: traffic chaos ensures fear!

Parents fight for safe way to school: traffic chaos ensures fear!

In a recent survey by ÖAMTC and KFV for the safety of school paths in Austria, parents have expressed their concerns about the traffic safety of their children. In the spring of 2025, a total of 600 parents were interviewed, and the results show that 451 children had an accident in Austria in 2024. The pressure that is on the school paths is considerable, with 31%of the parents identify a high volume of traffic as the main problem, followed by confusing intersections (18%) and lack of zebra crossing (17%).

The fact that 16% of the parents recognize distractions through cell phone use as a challenge on the way to school is particularly alarming. Despite these concerns, a high willingness of the parents to participate in improving the path to school pathways shows. 79% of the parents are willing to participate in measures to improve.

Parents' demands

The survey also emphasizes the specific wishes of the parents. 38% demand more secure transitions, while 33% would like more speed 30 zones in school and residential areas. In addition, 30% urge to use school pilots. Despite the numerous challenges, two thirds of the parents indicate that the traffic situation is "very good" or "good". However, only every third elementary school student is on the road: 33% are brought to school by car, while 15 minutes or less are required for average.

A supplementary survey by the ADAC Foundation shows that every fourth primary school child is mostly brought to school with the parent taxi. The main reasons for this are connection dates, bad weather and time savings. 62% of parents express concerns about the high traffic volume of schools, which increases the risk from parent taxis. 56% of these parents even report dangerous traffic situations in connection with these trips.

Concerns and responsible behavior

The survey results also show that 43% of parents are particularly concerned with traffic terrowdies, while 26% general concerns about the safety of their children in road traffic. In order to counteract these problems, the ADAC Foundation and other organizations start various campaigns in order to promote responsible behavior in road traffic. The “Safe to School” campaign includes poster campaigns and offers on your website.

In addition, many children have a smartphone with them, with 62% of the children being equipped on their way to school. 26% of the parents report that this is why dangerous situations have occurred. With this topic, mobility experts emphasize that it is of great importance to go to school independently, to have a scooter or bike ride.

Practice safe way to school

In order to improve security on school routes, experts recommend that parents should initially accompany their children. Important practices include practicing the way to school several times before the start of school and discussions about traffic situations. It is crucial to formulate clear rules for the behavior on streets and to guide the child to walk safely via zebra crossing and to pay attention to traffic.

Overall, the situation shows that despite the positive approaches and the commitment of many parents, the challenges on the way to school must not be neglected. Investments in safe way to school are crucial to ensure the safety of the children and to strengthen parents' trust in traffic safety.

The initiatives to improve the way of school and the commitment of the parents are more important than ever to increase security in our cities and enable children to play carefree. Further information can be found in the reports from ÖAMTC, the ADAC Foundation and on the website gib-acht-im-verkehr.de.