It is more and more common to escort children, and adolescents in rural areas, to school, to see friends, to leisure activities, to the doctor's etc. Some elderly persons are also systematically escorted to activities. These escorting trips are mainly by car, with the mother (or the daughter) driving. Whether children are escorted or not varies according to their age, but the practice has becoming increasingly prevalent in Europe since the 1970s. In England children are allowed to travel unescorted on average two and a half years later in 1990 than was the case in 1970 and in the same period the percentage of trips which are escorted has increased by a factor of three and a half. Road safety problems and general insecurity in the area where they live lead parents to escort their children. Most trips of this type are by car. The same situation applies in the former East Germany where many households have only recently acquired a car and where traffic is perceived as dangerous. Although this type of organization of daily family life provides short term opportunities, it nevertheless has long term negative impacts on the acquisition of travel independence by children and adolescents.Les enfants, et a la campagne egalement les adolescents, sont de plus en plus souvent accompagnes a l'ecole, chez leurs amis et a leurs activites de loisirs, chez le medecin... Certaines personnes agees se font egalement systematiquement accompagner pour leur differentes activites. Ces deplacements d'accompagnement sont principalement effectues en voiture par les meres (ou filles). L'accompagnement des enfants varie selon leur age, mais est en forte progression en Europe depuis les annees soixante-dix. En Angleterre, les enfants obtiennent la permission de se deplacer seuls en moyenne deux ans et demi plus tard en 1990 qu'en 1971, et le taux d'accompagnement est trois fois et demi plus eleve. Les problemes d'insecurite routiere et d'insecurite en general autour de leur domicile amenent les parents a pratiquer l'accompagnement. La voiture se revele le moyen de transport privilegie pour ce motif. Le constat est le meme dans les villes de l'ex-rda ou de nombreux foyers viennent d'acceder a la motorisation et ou la circulation est a present ressentie comme dangereuse. On constate cependant que les facilites immediates procurees par une telle organisation familiale de la vie quotidienne se paient a long terme par des consequences negatives en ce qui concerne l'apprentissage de la mobilite autonome par les enfants et les adolescents.