Playing the game; Children's freedom of movement in the streets

Abstract

This article discusses a paradox. Since the fifties and sixties, traffic has increased rapidly. Initially, the number of traffic casualties rose accordingly. Since 1972, however, the number of victims has dropped remarkably in the Netherlands, whereas the increase in traffic, measured in number of cars and kilometers driven, has continued unabated (Figure 1). Fewer children are involved in road accidents. The number of children in the population has decreased by 30 percent since 1972.