How Parents Perceive their Child’s Trip to and from School:

There are many factors that influence parents’ decisions when deciding how their children will get to and from school such as crime, traffic, weather, travel distance, etc.  Parents tend to decide whether their child can walk or bike to school based on their view or perception of safety rather than safety statistics that that reflect actual conditions. This research study reviews literature on risk perception and data from surveys that were distributed to parents throughout six public school in New Jersey. Questions comprising three main categories: (1) traffic dangers, (2) Social dangers (such as crime) and (3) child/community perceptions were included in the New Jersey Safe Routes to School Parent/Caregiver survey.