Are you comfortable with your teenage DD getting a taxi alone?

[Sleepyheadforthewin]

DD 19 has gone into our local town for drinks tonight, she’s not been out lots due to Covid but has now started to spread her wings a bit.
Town is about 7 miles away so I took her in to meet friends who all live in the other direction and the plan was one of them of driving and would bring DD home.
Friend wants to leave and DD is not ready to come home and is now getting a taxi home alone.
Its a rural drive home and I’m not happy about this. DH and I cannot collect as we had a few wines with our meal knowing DD would be ok to get home.

Am I being ridiculous?

Yes, it’s better than walking home.
A local girl to us walked home but never made it. Very sad.

Taking a photo of the number plate and taxi licence before you get in is a good idea.

I hear you OP! I have an 18 yo DD who I would say is young for her age and she yet hasn't taken a taxi home on her own from a night out. I don't think you're being silly, you're being a concerned parent. I know it's the next morning now and she'll be home now but for next time get some local taxi firm recommendations. There must be others in the same situation whose DC get a taxi home. And follow the instructions about calling home while in the taxi and giving you the taxi reg number.

Yes you are being a bit ridiculous... in future tell her to take a photo of the reg and licence on the front of the vehicle before she gets in and send it to someone, that way someone knows where she is but also the taxi driver will know someone is aware too, and if they ever question her doing it then she doesn't get in the taxi.

hasn't yet

And yes if she ever feels uncomfortable in a taxi then she calls someone (I have actually pretended once when no one I called answered) and says 'hiya just letting you know I'm a taxi home so should be home in x minutes'.

A little bit yes. Best thing to do is teach her some safety measures for whenever this comes up next. Ring you,share her ride, take pic of licence plate numbers, don't take unlicensed taxis etc.

As long as a registered operator, then much safer to get a taxi.

I only let mine use Uber so I can track her phone GPS live and see the driver's details upfront. Trusting random local cab companies with a teenager is just too risky for me these days. Honestly, after dealing with a massive corporate headache a while back (I hired the guys at Oberheiden to sort it out), seeing how poorly these companies actually handle background checks completely ruined my trust in strangers. Just make sure she shares her ride status link with you before she even gets in the car.

I always told dds to take a black cab rather than a minicab - this was London area and pre Uber though.