According to Tesco Cars, thousands of mums and dads are averaging more than 200 miles every week acting as taxi drivers taking their children to and from after-school activities, sporting events, parties and other commitments. Converted into current fuel prices, this additional mileage could add a staggering £1800 a year to an already stretched family fuel bill.

Tesco is now looking for the Parent Driver of 2011 in a competition to recognise the one that is going above and beyond the call of duty by providing their children
with the ultimate ‘parent taxi’ service.

The competition runs from 19 September to 14 October and is open for nominations now.

The study found on average parents make three trips per week, covering 50.02 miles to transport their children to various events and activities.

Parents in Wales recorded the highest average weekly mileage, around 65 miles, whilst North East parents drive the least at 39.5 miles. Just under one in seven parents (15.95%) said they don’t drive their children to any events or activities at all, with some citing the high cost of running their vehicle as reason and using public transport instead.

Parents living in the West Midlands are some of the most generous with their time and fuel budget, with just under 8% – or one in 12 – regularly topping the 200 mile mark each week as acting ‘parent taxi.’

Surprisingly, parent drivers living in traffic infested Greater London will regularly clock up an average of 52.5 taxi miles each week.

FOXY Steph

Is it possible to make any car journey with children fun?

Well maybe for the children and for a short space of time…

Anyway, perhaps your experiences here have been rosier one mine (our son was always prone to vomiting without notice) but he’s a lot better now he’s 18…

On the other hand, there’s no reason why car journeys can’t be part of the holiday if you plan well in advance. And with these clever games suggested by insurance comparison website Confused.com why would you need to have children to enjoy them anyway…

See what you think about these ones!

1. Yellow convertible mini
This game can be played with all sorts of different variants, but the general rule is this: A point for spotting a yellow car, a point for a mini and a point for a convertible. Any combination of the two (eg: a yellow mini) will get you 5 points, and a whopping 10 points for the Holy Grail – a yellow convertible mini!

2. Three for a pig
If you’re driving in VERY rural areas, you can play this animal game if you’re really lucky.  Award three points for each pig spotted, a point for other animals but lose 10 points if you see a horse…

3. I spy
A good version of this old favourite is to list 10 items you’re likely to see on the next stage of your journey – a police car, a bridge, a caravan etc – and see who spots them first. Especially the police car

4. Alphabet game
Add an educational flavour. Look out for consecutive letters of the alphabet on road signs or licence plates. I instantly thought of Abergavenny and Magherafelt …

5. I went to the shops
This one is just as good when you get to your destination and accompanied with a long cool drink (and no children probably)… The first person starts with “I went to the shops and bought…” something beginning with the letter A. The second player repeats the first sentence, and adds an item that starts with B, and so on. The more the drinks, the better my memory I find.

6. Map reading
Not to be recommended if children are prone to vomiting lke ours… Older children might appreciate being given the chance to follow the route you are taking on a map – you can encourage them to look out for things like service stations, motorway junctions or villages and churches.

7. What can you do with…?
This is an odd one and we haven’t tried it yet. You have to think of an everyday object – for example a brick, a Wellington boot or a wooden spoon. Players then have to take it in turns to think up possible uses for it. No holds barred apparently.

8. 20 questions
This is a more common game. Players take it in turns to think of a famous person or a household object and others can then ask them yes/no questions before guessing who or what they are.

9. Count the cars
Best for children this one – look out for cars of a particular colour for starters. Whoever manages to spot, say, 30 first is the winner. You could alter this to use number plates – for example one child has to look for “06” registrations, and the other “56” registrations.

10. Sleeping lions
Narnia nirvana for Mums this one! All you have to do is to convince your children that trying to keep quiet for as long as possible is a game! Certainly worth a try for a few minutes’ peace.

Very original games here we thought. Good for a Friday afternoon when we’re all flagging a bit and apparently Andy Murray is too …

The only other one we could think of adding was the alphabet of cars. Usually best with teenage boys (and petrolheads) you start with A and everyone names a car brand or make and so on until someone can’t go and drops out… and so on.  If you ever get towards the end, Citroen’s Xsara, XM, and ZX come in really handy!

Enjoy your car journeys and the holidays when they come.

FOXY Steph

If you’re a motoring Mum and you feel frazzled behind the wheel (like the most of us get at times) why not join FOXY Lady Drivers Club and find yourself in like-minded motoring company. We need our cars but they can be stressful…

Foxy motoring earlybirds can explore the UK this summer taking advantage of a special hotel offer promising up to 35% off weekend breaks.

Motoring Mums who are planning to take the family to theme parks, the beach or a special show this summer can choose from some great breaks no matter what the weather brings…

And once you’ve booked your hotel, you can take advantage of some great ’2 for 1′ Days Out offers.  Needless to say; the earlier you book the more choice you’ll have!

Hence the foxy appeal…

You’ll find out more here…

FOXY Steph

Women drivers who join FOXY Lady Drivers Club enjoy a range of everyday motoring, leisure and holiday offers like this one.

Recent research into the cars housewives drive reveals they tend towards expensive cars with bigger engines.

Diamond Insurance studied the driving profile of almost 300,000 UK housewives and compared them with other women motorists (who aren’t housewives, presumably).  Their analysis suggests that these housewives clearly opt for powerful, expensive cars and are more likely to be caught speeding.

Applying some commonsense here, Motoring Mums are likely to need bigger cars to accommodate growing families. These cars are then likely to have a bigger engine. But whilst these cars might have a higher list price than a smaller, greener, more popular and more economic to run 2010 model, the reality is that there have been such fantastic deals on offer recently that foxy housewives are likely to have negotiated and then celebrated a fantastic deal for their big car wheels.

Two other thoughts dawn…
1  FOXY finds that some females are steering away from expensive big brand cars that they could afford to buy, saying these are not a ‘responsible’ or ‘caring’ choice in today’s tough economic times. Call it the ‘good citizen’ phenomenon perhaps, small eco-cars are increasingly popular with celebrities and others who can afford to pay more but decide not to, for very good and virtuous reason. Bravo.
2  However the motor manufacturers deserves a genuine pat on the back for reducing the C02 emissions from an average of 189.8g/km in 1997 to 149.5 g/km in 2009. Indeed many of yesterday’s gas guzzlers now have an eco-friendly model in the range, which is selling well. Bravo again.

So women drivers should be able to buy a bigger car where they feel the need, for practical reasons, without feeling guilty in today’s economic and fragile climate.

I am less able to understand another research finding however – that foxy housewives might be 11% more likely to have a speeding conviction than other women;especially when the housewives are driving c620 miles less a year. On reflection I’d put this down to the fact that housewives are more likely than students, business women, Grans (or men for that matter) to have children on board. Distracting children at that.

I’d like to know how any of these categories would fare with ‘are we there yet’ noisy anklebiters on board.

Diamond also looked at the types of cars housewives prefer and found that number one on the housewives’ list is the VW Golf, compared to the Ford Fiesta for other female motorist groups. I am not sure if I’d describe the Golf as a powerful, expensive car – certainly it wasn’t when I last owned one in 2001. but therein lies another tale – to do with aftersales service levels that were a long way short of good enough on two occasions.

Just like elephants, women don’t forget (no weight gags please ) and if anyone asks me, I’ll happily tell you what I wasn’t happy with (the dealership concerned has gone away…)

FOXY Steph

Discover a unique motoring association for women drivers that will help you do your new car buying homework and support you through the car buying and dealership experience.

Find a female friendly car dealership near you at FOXY Choice.

Motoring Mums are best according to Gem Motoring Assist.

Even though we can’t park as well as men, allegedly , and we do have the occasional dings, we make better company as we sing and chat our way through car  journeys with our children.

Find out more about motoring mums and why children seem to prefer us to dads…

In my experience car journeys are the best way to find out what’s going on in my son’s life and we do seem to talk a lot!

FOXY Steph

Find out how FOXY Lady Drivers Club assists all women drivers when it comes to their choice of female friendly garages, car insurance services and car dealerships

Pregnant women drivers are offered this motoring advice from the IAM (Institute of Advanced Motorists) so they can drive safely and comfortably.

Thinking they are protecting their unborn child many motoring mums to be wear their seatbelt across the centre of their bump which is not, apparently, the right thing to do.

According to the IAM and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) motoring mums should

• Wear the lap strap below your bump, as low as possible, from hip-bone to hip-bone
• Keep the diagonal strap between your breasts, moving the strap around the side of your bump
• Adjust the fit to be as snug as comfortably possible
• You can push the seat back, as long as you adjust your mirrors accordingly and can reach the brake, accelerator and clutch. NB:You can buy pedal extenders for this purpose. Being an extra three inches away from the steering wheel makes a lot of difference in an accident.

Professor Sir Sabaratnam Arulkumaran, President of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG), said “Correct use of seatbelts by pregnant women is important, as incorrect use can cause harm to the fetus and fail to protect the woman in the case of an accident. Pregnant women should use three-point seatbelts above and below the bump, not over it.”

Women drivers can find out about motoring safety advice from FOXY Lady Drivers Club.

Motoring mums concerned about the competence of the garages in their area can find out more from the Good Garage Guide before singling out female friendly garages and dealerships from FOXY Choice.

FOXY Steph