Is there a way to ensure an au pair can drive before they arrive?

[Anonymous]

I am a single parent with kids who are old enough to stay home but not to drive. So, the whole point of getting an au pair would be to have a driver. Our schedule requires a fair amount of highway driving, driving in the dark, and potentially driving in the snow. I have read here that people have had au pairs arrive and then they learn that they can't drive.

If driving ability was your number one concern after not being a child abuser, what would you do? Pick from certain countries? Only doing second years or rematches and insist on driving with them as part of an interview process?

Or is the au pair program just not for us?

[Anonymous]

Get a German.

[Anonymous]

We had au pair who we thought could drive but actually could not. My lessons learned were: in seeking out a match, definitely get videos of them driving and ask really detailed questions about their driving record. Explain in your family letter and in the interview that the #1 thing you are looking for in an AP is a responsible, experienced driver. It would be hard to drive with a second year/rematch in the interview process unless they are already in your area, but otherwise yes going with a second year who has a clean driving record could be a good way to go.

[Anonymous]

Agree with PP, get a German.

My understanding from the South African former AP is that in South Africa, you get your license by bribing an official. Also, at least in South Africa, an "international license" is simply purchased - it doesn't require any test (driving or written).

[Anonymous]

The international license has nothing to do with driving - it's a translation of the home license.
To answer the OP: Look for someone that has been driving for over a year. Stress that they will be driving a lot as part of their job and ask if they are honestly comfortable with that. Ask about the driving conditions and types of roads they've experienced. Ask about the longest trip they've ever driven. If they say they drive daily, do they have their own car? Do they drive at night?

[Anonymous]

Also ask what type of cars they have driven. We had a Brazilian AP who swore up and down that she could drive. When she arrived she had a really hard time adjusting to driving our Honda civic, kept saying it's way bigger than the car she was used to.

[Anonymous]

German, Swede, Austrian - those should all be solid drivers for what you need. We've had good drivers from Europe. Don't go to latin america or south africa or asia for a driver. You may luck out, but chances arent good

[Anonymous]

For us - we learned that we needed to really probe into the kind of driving they did at home and whether it aligned to the type of driving we need (which is highways often). We had one European (from a country mentioned) who had multiple accidents - I am sure she did fine at home - but it turned out her town had one stop sign and a round about and while she claimed ample highway driving it turned it out it was more like one lane highways versus the beltway. We had two who were excellent - both had extensive experience with GPS driving, long road trips etc.

[Anonymous]

Get videos of their driving.
Try to get a European au pair.
Ask detailed questions about their driving experience
- how long
- what kind of car
- how often

Be upfront and mention that their driving will be assessed first day by a professional, and that if the professional says they can't drive, you would initiate an immediate rematch.

[Anonymous]

The Baltic states should have a lot of decent drivers. Women drive a lot, many still learn on stick shift, there's months and months of auto school, passing the school exam and the state exam is almost impossible. The fee for school is high, so all take it seriously. The traffic signs need to be memorized, and they are used to driving in snow.
I couldn't believe 'stop' and 'yield' was written on the sign when I came here on 90s.

[Anonymous]

Get a second year au pair who drove a lot the first year in the us

[Anonymous]

In my experience, Mexicans are good drivers.