We know that your being able to get around easily is important to your general well-being. This is why we decided to give you the privilege of using one of our two cars, the Toyota Camry.

As with any privilege, this one comes with some expectations in terms of how you will use your privilege.

We ask that you pay attention to the following things in terms of using the Camry?

1)Your ability to use the Camry is a privilege. We politely ask that you always keep this in mind, and that you please not take your use of the Camry for granted.

2) Please ask us to use the Camry well before you want to the use the car – ideally at least 24 hours beforehand — so that we can make plans too. We have only two cars in our household and three drivers.

3)To begin, we ask that you do not use the Camry more than one time on the weekend evenings and nights. If things go well, we will consider expand your weekend night driving privileges. If you want to go on short, local shopping trips, on the weekend during the day you can do this. Please ask us beforehand, though.

4)You will be allowed to use the Camry to get to your classes and to get to some official Au Pair Care events (depending on what the events are, where the events are, and how far away the are). You will also be able to drive the kids places, perhaps to the zoo, to the park, etc. These miles will NOT count as personal miles.

5)Gas is expensive. So we ask that if you end up driving more than 300 personal miles a month that you, out of courtesy, give us money to help refill the tank. We ask that you give us $1 for gas for every 10 personal miles you drive beyond the 300 miles. We also ask that you do not exceed 450 personal miles per month total – except when we have given you special approval for a long trip, for instance to go skiing in the mountains.

6)Do not exceed the posted speed limits by more than 5 miles per hour. Drive with the utmost care, for our two little girls, and for yourself!

7) If it is snowy and icy, you cannot drive the car without our permission – unless it is to your class, an Au Pair Care event etc. Even then, one of us might choose to drive you to where you are going. Icy roads are very dangerous!

8)We ask that you do not forget that there is a light rail that goes to downtown. Generally, we prefer that, when possible, you use the light rail to go downtown, rather than drive. This is especially true if it is snowing, etc.

9) Absolutely no talking on the cell phone OR text messaging when driving!

10) No alcoholic beverages in the car, and no smoking in the car – this includes passengers!

11) Please do not drink and drive!

12) No friends, etc. are allowed to drive our car.

13)To start, we ask when you have the car on weekends, that you be home by 2 a.m. We may expand this time, depending on how things go. (It gets more dangerous to drive as it gets later on weekend nights, due to more drunk drivers).

14) Be aware that American drivers and driving rules are very different than German drivers and driving rules. In general, American drivers are not as orderly and a bit more unpredictable than German drivers.

15) Always, always drive safely! Do not take unnecessary risks! Driving safely is a matter of life and death!