Walking statistics
Key facts and stats on walking can be found below. If you have any other queries, please contact Anna Powell, Press Officer.
Walk to school participation levels
(National Travel Survey 2009)
50% of primary school aged children walk to school with 42% being driven in cars.
32% of secondary school children walk to school with 22% being driven in cars and 33% using local or private bus services.
The average primary school pupil lives 1.5 miles from the school gates.
The school run accounts for over a fifth of all car trips between 8-9am.
Find out more in the Department for Transport's National Travel Survey.
Over 6,400 schools take part in the Living Streets Walk to School campaign (6,468) reaching over 1.6 million children and young people (1,610,782). Find out more about the Walk to School campaign.
Obesity in adults and children
England:
(NHS Information Centre, 2010)
In 2008, almost a quarter of adults (24% of men and 25% of women aged 16 or over) in England were classified as obese.
In 2008, 16.8% of boys aged 2 to 15, and 15.2% of girls were classed as obese.
39% of men and 29% of women meet the recommended levels of 30 minutes of at least moderate intensity activity at least 5 times a week.
Boys aged 2 to 15 were more likely than girls to meet the recommended levels of physical activity with 32% of boys and 24% of girls reporting taking part in 60 minutes or more of physical activity on each of the seven days in the previous week.
In 2008, the number of prescription items dispensed for the treatment of obesity was 1.28 million; this is ten times the number in 1999 (127 thousand).
By 2025 it is estimated that 47% of men and 36% of women will be obese.
Scotland:
Preventing Overweight & Obesity in Scotland: a route map towards healthy weight, Scottish Government, 2010
The cost of obesity to NHS Scotland in 2007/8 was £175 million.
The estimated total cost to society of obesity in 2007/8 was £0.6 billion to £1.4 billion. (Total costs include costs associated with infrastructure and planning across numerous sectors, e.g. airlines, transport companies, hospitals – e.g. larger seats; more aviation fuel; larger hospital beds, chairs, wheelchairs; adapted surgical instruments, hoists, delivery beds and ambulances).
Road safety (including 20mph)
(Office of National Statistics: Reported Road Casualties Great Britain: 2009)
In 2009, 500 pedestrians were killed and 26,887 injured on our roads.
The equivalent of 30 classes of primary school pedestrians were killed or seriously injured on our roads last year.
A pedestrian hit by a car at 40mph has only a 15% chance of surviving. At 30mph this chance increases to 55%. But at 20mph the chance of survival increases to 95%.
71% of people are in favour of 20mph speed limits on residential streets
(2010 British Social Attitudes Survey, Natcen)
Office of National Statistics: Reported Road Casualties Great Britain: 2009
2010 British Social Attitudes Survey, Natcen
