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E-retailing kills children – yeah, right

Net scare story No.94

The Internet was last week accused of taking children's lives. Those reading an article in Thursday's Express newspaper could have been forgiven for believing that the Web was about to kill off most of the nation's nippers while they were playing outside their homes. "The Internet revolution's promise of car-free shopping could backfire by creating new traffic jams -- of trucks and vans rushing to deliver ordered goods," it pointed out. "A detailed report warned yesterday that the prospect raises fears of increased road casualties, particularly to children playing near their homes." Not that this was complete nonsense – the report, by Lex Transfleet, warned of "an increase in the use of trucks and vans in residential areas that have previously had very little or no heavy goods vehicle traffic." But The Register can reveal that there is no need to keep your children locked in their rooms. "There will not be a massive increase in road deaths as a result of the Internet," clarified Peter Saunders, marketing strategy director for the company. "There are dangers that there will be increased congestion on residential streets. Suppliers need to pool together so we don't have ten vans going down the same street from ten different supermarkets," he said. "There could be a potential danger to children. But the freight and logistics industry is pretty responsible."®

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