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The 10,000 mile a day, £1.66 billion a year school run

The famous school run produces traffic that stretches from London to Sydney and costs us around £402 each, says research.

Conducted by online insurance company Egg, the results highlight how the financial cost of the four million plus parents who regularly drive their children to and from school can amount to much more than buying uniforms and books. Around 315,000 parents spend between £26 and £50 a week in petrol alone and costs increase further when you take into account the 331,000 vehicles are likely to be damaged this year as parents take their children to and from school. In addition, the findings reveal that this costly exercise can also be fraught with danger as four million mums or dads fight to drop the kids off at school. The research reveals that the annual cost of the school run is a staggering £1.66 billion a year. This equates to £401.6 per household that drives a child to and from school. The biggest expense is petrol which swallows up a staggering £1.32 billion a year.

Andy Deller, director of Banking and Insurance at Egg said: “With the huge volumes of traffic during the morning and afternoon school runs it is perhaps no surprise that damage to parents vehicles as a result of bumps and scrapes is the third biggest annual cost of doing the school run. The key thing here appears to be to avoid the busiest times where possible, whilst making sure you are well covered in case you do get a knock.”