Overview
- The ACE Schulweg-Index published Oct. 15 reports 30% of assessed routes as poor and 6% as dangerous, with only 5% rated safe and most others merely adequate.
- Observers recorded 6,422 parent drop-offs and found 41% involved violations, chiefly stopping in no-parking zones (20%), in driveways (8%) and on sidewalks or in double rows (6%).
- The study covered 167 primary schools serving about 49,000 pupils, using roughly 700 volunteers from April to July and a two-part scoring that deems a route poor if either behavior or infrastructure is poor, and safe only if both are safe.
- Although 92% of schools sit in 30 km/h zones, just 6% benefit from traffic-calmed or play-street setups and 8% lack any crossing aid, prompting calls for designated parent stops and school streets with consistent checks.
- Regional differences are stark, with Saxony, Brandenburg and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania performing better and Saarland and Rhineland-Palatinate worst, as some municipalities pilot measures such as a school street and parent stop in Ludwigsburg under stepped-up monitoring.