I understand teachers' pains, especially if for whatever reason they are made responsible (which I indeed do not think they should be).

However, while I can't say anything about kids behaving haphazardly when they walk and cycle, I am pretty sure that the risk of dying in a motor vehicle accident while returning from school is infinitely higher than the risk of being snatched by a predator. Such cases gather immense media attention, but in fact they are also extremely rare.

Now maybe a thing school boards and municipalities should be responsible for is building proper infrastructure around schools to facilitate safe active transportation...