Cyclists vulnerable to attack may be publicly encouraged to travel together with others, and to carry a whistle and aerosol spray for self-defence. The aim of Sustrans is to cover the UK with a network of traffic-free paths. Some of these will be dangerous at night, but experience in other European countries suggests that the benefits of shared paths far outweigh the dangers. The more children travel school in cars, the more dangerous roads become for children. Schoolchildren in Westlands, Silverdale and Madeley, as well as on campus, would benefit greatly from the proposed paths.
Children are much more likely to die in cars than on bikes or in deliberate attacks.
Public impressions of these relationships are distorted by media attention to child murders, while road deaths are mostly ignored. Children who exercise regularly are healthier. In the UK there is a road fatality every three hours. In the UK, both summers and winters are relatively mild and cycle friendly.