Unmistakable signs of autumn abound. Leaves are falling off the trees, wind and rain have returned and the TUC is back in Brighton.

Most people are back from vacation and there won't be another bank holiday until Christmas.

But the most noticeable feature of all is the resumption of the school run now that the autumn term has started for the majority of youngsters. It is an astonishing and highly unwelcome phenomenon.

Whereas 30 years ago nine out of ten children walked to school, many of them travelling on their own, now the same proportion are taken by car.

The morning school run, coinciding with the rush hour, increases traffic by 20 per cent. It is dangerous, aggravating and unnecessary.

Most people over 40 will recall the pleasures of dawdling to and from school. It provided welcome exercise, a chance to chat with friends and the opportunity to get to know local streets intimately.

People do not always believe me when I tell them I walked two miles to school in rural Canada at the age of four but I did, and regarded it as being perfectly normal.

Now there are children who are ferried just a few yards from home to school. Looking at them, some would have trouble making the journey without assistance.

We are not talking only about primary school children. I know pupils in their mid-teens who are taken to secondary school by their parents and older ones who drive themselves there.

Look outside any school in Sussex before it opens or after it closes and you will see chaos. There seems to be competition among some parents to get as close as possible to the gates.

Double, treble and even quadruple parking is the norm. If some drivers could motor straight into the playground, they undoubtedly would.

It is dangerous for all children, not just the minority who still walk to school but also for those leaving their cars and walking the last few yards through the forest of vehicles.

There is also the congestion and pollution caused by the sheer number of cars, most of which wait outside with their engines running.

What can be done? Any attempt to remonstrate with parents is often met with volleys of abuse, even if they are parked on double yellow lines.

Visits by local bobbies are effective but Sussex Police does not have time to devote to this issue on a daily basis. Heads put out frequent messages to parents through newsletters but these are frequently ignored.

Some authorities such as Brighton and Hove Council have started a Safe Routes to School scheme, which provides special crossings and minimises the dangers for those wishing to walk to school. But it is a slow, laborious and expensive process.

There are parents who have taken matters into their own hands by organising convoys of parents walking with children each morning and evening.

The best known of these is the Stanford Crocodile in Brighton and Hove. This provides a safe journey to the two Stanford schools and has also resulted in crossing improvements.

I favour much more stringent methods by councils outside many schools. In side streets it should be possible to build out kerbs to ensure there is more room for pedestrians and to make parking almost impossible.

Failing that, I would like to see barriers used for half an hour either side of the school day to close the road outside. It would look ugly but it would be prettier than dead kids.