In the United Kingdom 70 per cent of people go to work by car. Only one per cent of children ride to school on a bicycle. So we could all walk and cycle a bit more, or catch the bus or train. We can also build special roads called by-passes so that traffic does not have to pass through the town centre.

But not everybody is happy with these solutions. People's homes as well as the countryside itself may be destroyed to make way for a by-pass. Shopkeepers also complain they lose money because there are not as many customers passing through the town.

Is there a traffic problem where you live? Think about what you can do to help solve it. You could ask your local council to: provide more buses and trains so that people use their cars less provide safe footpaths away from traffic build special routes for cyclists set up 'home zones' in residential areas