WE wish traffic chiefs well in their attempts to try and make Bolton roads safer and to encourage parents to allow their children to walk or cycle to school.

The idea of involving children at two schools - Withins School in Breightmet and St James's in Farnworth - is excellent.

The pupils will gain valuable experience in drawing maps and highlighting traffic danger spots and will have the opportunity to suggest ways in which the latter could be made safer.

Whether the outcome will be that more children will walk to school rather than being taken by car remains to be seen.

As Bolton's road safety chief, Trevor Higson, says there are several factors involved in why parents choose to take their children to school by car.

One of them, surely, is that, even at secondary school level, parents are afraid of who may by lurking around ready to accost their children.

If children are to be encouraged to walk or cycle to school, and the by-products of this must be a healthier lifestyle and a greater awareness of road safety, then they must also be encouraged to travel with friends and to be reminded that there is safety in numbers.

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