Roles reversed: Ageing parents who rely on their children to ferry them around

THEY grumbled for years about how their teenagers treated them as if they were a personal taxi service.

But now it’s time for revenge as ageing parents rely increasingly on grown-up children to ferry them around.

The over-60s are two and a half times more likely than they were five years ago to get their children to drive them to hospital appointments, shopping trips and other important journeys, an AA study found.

It analysed data from the Department for Transport that showed 30 per cent of over60s say relying on lifts from family and friends is a reason for not learning to drive, up from 12 per cent.

In contrast, teenagers appear to be less reliant on the taxi of mum and dad. Only 23 per cent gave this as a reason for not learning to drive, down from 30 per cent five years earlier.

AA president Edmund King said: ‘It looks like the “mates’ taxi” will have to pull over and make way for “gran and grandad’s taxi” – payback for all the times parents drove their kids to school, sports activities and parties. The lower dependence on the mates’ taxi is a hopeful sign. Among 15 to 18year-olds, 58 per cent of accidental deaths happen on the road.

‘The likelihood of dying in a crash is even higher when it is a car full of teenagers.’

Separate Department for Transport figures show that the percentage of those aged 70 and over with a driving licence has dropped from 64 to 62.

This is mostly due to a drop among men from 81 per cent to 78 per cent. For older women, it has remained at 50 per cent.