It's 8.45 in the morning and the roads leading to the school gates are clogged with traffic. Parents drop off children leaving their car engines running. Others drive around searching for a parking space while children dart between crawling cars to cross the road. Surely it doesn't have to be like this.

The "school run" by car has become a significant feature of daily life for many families and, as a result, school journeys account for 20% of morning rush-hour traffic. Ironically, the desire of parents to protect their children by driving them to school has brought about other health and safety problems, such as increased air pollution from car emissions and greater congestion around the school gates. Children who are driven to school are also less likely to develop essential road sense, which can only be learnt by walking and cycling.