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[quote=Anonymous]Having a young adult driver on the road traveling to areas that I would not necessarily frequent at times I wouldn't be out was one of my least favorite parts of hosting.  Here is how we handled it:

We had a dedicated AP car which was used for children's activities and personal mileage.  We requested that our AP ask first before leaving the county we live in with our vehicle.   There were reasonable exceptions to this for day trips, concerts, etc.  (On one of these occasions, the AP was in an accident and the car was totaled.  It was not her fault and she had asked permission, but it reinforced our geographic "comfort zone.")

We calculated the children's activities mileage and reimbursed the AP for that gas only.  Most of the driving was for the APs' personal use, so she needed to be mindful of the budget.  IF the HF pays all the gas, there is no incentive for the AP to be judicious with mileage.  All APs had AP friends within 3-6 miles, which I encouraged by helping her to figure out where other OPs lived. (Some found lifelong friends and continued to see them regularly once they were finished with their AP years.)  We asked the AP to limit her personal mileage to approximately 100 miles per week.  Our insurance premium was based on mileage per year, as well as the AP's age, so mileage counts for that as well.

Because it was a dedicated car and this wasn't a "given" for all APs, this occasionally required we remind the AP that she needed to trade off with other APs rather than be the designated driver every time.  With some APs, this was a source of tension, but in fairness the costs and risks of having APs driving should be spread among HFs.

In 10+ years of having AP drivers, there were occasional mishaps, the worst being the aforementioned car that got totalled and was promptly replaced, and quite a few breakdowns that required we "rescue" the AP at a time of night when we would normally be in our beds. It was probably good practice for when our children start to drive, but I prefer to minimize unnecessary stress.  [/quote]

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