In many European cities young children still walk themselves to school, teens take the trams, etc. It is much safer than in the US for a number of reasons. The speed limits are much lower, 30 kph (19 mph) is the standard speed limit for a residential road, 40 kph (25 mph) is typical for commercial roads with wide sidewalks, etc.. Most streets have a buffer of parallel parked cars between the driving lanes and sidewalks. Right turn on a red light is universally banned in some cities. The cars tend to be smaller and even the heavy trucks have better visibility since the driver is sitting above the front axle. Most importantly though there are always pedestrians on the streets so drivers are vigilant.