Brits drive 4330 miles every year dishing out free lifts

Whether designated drivers, or the taxi of mum and dad, we drive over 4330 miles per year to take a friend or family member from A to Z, the equivalent of driving from London to Nairobi in Kenya.

And British drivers are spending 146 days of their lives ferrying around loved ones with free lifts, according to new research.

Men give out more free lifts, spending 164 days of their lives dishing them out, compared to just 126 for women.

Parents are handing out more free lifts still, driving an extra 22 miles a week to take their children places.

In fact, drivers could be taking home a whopping £8.5k a year if they were to charge their passengers.

Interestingly, one in five (21 per cent) of those surveyed said that they 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, and two-thirds (67 per cent) of those who have given their boss a lift have charged them.

Meanwhile only a fifth (21 per cent) have ever charged their partner for a lift, and it is our siblings that we will ask the least from, just £14.60 per lift.

One in ten (11 per cent) have even admitted to charging per mile.

Of those who charge for lifts, a third (35 per cent) said it was because they needed the money for petrol, and a third (34 per cent) claimed it was because the journey was so long.

The research by Privilege Motor Insurance found parents of school children have it the worst, driving an extra 692 miles every year just to take their children on weekend activities and 504 miles to sleepovers alone.

When it comes to places we need taking to, back home tops the list (46 per cent), followed by the supermarket (41 per cent), the train station (41 per cent) and the airport (38 per cent).

Top reasons for requesting a lift include the driver already driving that way (41 per cent), being too far to walk (38 per cent), car issues (34 per cent), bad weather (32 per cent) and even laziness (10 per cent).

Nottingham drivers go the furthest when offering free lifts (5943 miles), whilst Southampton is not so generous, with 1881 miles per year.

Charlotte Fielding, Head of Privilege Motor Insurance, 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.”  

Places we get lifts to the most

1.    To their house

2.    To the supermarket

3.    To the train station

4.    To the airport

5.    To meet friends

6.    To work

7.    To a pub/bar

8.    To do errands

9.    To parties

10.  To dinner

Cities racking up the most miles with free lifts

1.    Nottingham

2.    London

3.    Sheffield

4.    Leeds

5.    Edinburgh

6.    Birmingham

7.    Norwich

8.    Belfast

9.    Glasgow

10.  Newcastle

ENDS

For more information, please contact: Georgie Bruer at Richmond & Towers:

georgieb@rtc.london / 020 3179 0720

Notes to editors:

Research carried out amongst a nationally representative sample of 2,005 UK adults by Opinium Research from 28^th February and 3^rd March 2020.

*Average price taken from the prices drivers have charged to eight different groups of people (Mum, Dad, Sibling, Children, Partner, Friends, Colleagues and Bosses) for lifts. A mean price was created for each group, and an overall average calculated from these.

Privilege

Privilege Insurance specialises in car insurance for safe drivers. It also offers home insurance and breakdown cover by phone or on-line.

Privilege general insurance policies are underwritten by U K Insurance Limited, Registered office: The Wharf, Neville Street, Leeds LS1 4AZ. Registered in England and Wales No 1179980. U K Insurance Limited is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority.

Privilege and UK Insurance Limited are both part of Direct Line Insurance Group plc.  

Customers can find out more about Privilege’s products or get a quote by calling

0345 246 0515 or visiting www.privilege.co.uk