‘Dad’s taxi’ can rack up 4,330 miles a year
● The average person drives equivalent of London to Kenya
The average person drives more than 4,330 miles per year to take a friend or family member from A to B – the equivalent of driving from London to Nairobi in Kenya.
British drivers are spending 146 days of their lives ferrying around loved ones with free lifts, a new report has claimed.
Men typically give out more free lifts, spending 164 days of their lives dishing them out, compared to just 126 for women, while parents are handing out more free lifts still, driving an extra 22 miles a week to take their children places.
Edinburgh and Glasgow both made the top ten places in the UK in terms of high mileage from giving others lifts. Edinburgh ranked fifth, behind cities including Nottingham, London, Sheffield and Leeds, while Glasgow was ninth. Charlotte Fielding, head of Privilege Motor Insurance, which published the report, said: “It’s interesting to see how quickly the miles can rack up for those dishing out free lifts.
“Whether you are lifting people to the gym, to a sleepover or just giving a ride home, it is clear that we spend a lot of time in our cars. Therefore, whether it’s your first mile, or your thousandth it’s important that we take care of ourselves, our passengers and other road users by driving safely.”
The survey claimed that drivers could be taking home £8,500 a year if they were to charge their passengers.
One in five of those surveyed said that they do charge people for lifts, with an average of £16.21 being the going rate for a free ride.
People charge their bosses the most when they need a lift, an average of £17.40 per lift – with two-thirds of those who have given their boss a lift saying they have charged them.
Only a fifth admitted they have ever charged their partner for a lift, and claim they offer them a reduced family rate – at just £14.60 per lift.
One in ten have even admitted to charging per mile. Of those who charge for lifts, a third said it was because they needed the money for petrol, and a third claimed it was because the journey was so long.
Top reasons for requesting a lift include the driver already driving that way, being too far to walk, car issues, bad weather and even laziness.
Meanwhile, popular destinations for people who request a ride in someone else’s car include being taken back home, followed by the supermarket, the train station and the airport.
Parents of school children typically drive an extra 692 miles every year just to take their children on weekend activities and 504 miles to sleepovers alone.