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Au Pair Driving Program
Focus is "your safety" and the "safety of others" you will be driving!
As an Au Pair, you will be driving the car of your host family.
Safety must be your number "1" priority.
Regardless of whether you consider yourself a “good” driver, driving in America can be challenging and is very different from many other parts of the world.
Although you have a driver's license from your home country, you most likely have different driving experiences and a comfort level when driving.
Don't look at a driver assessment or a few lessons negatively.
It's about "your" safety and the safety of "the children".
This program's design is to identify your current skill level for the U.S. driving environment as well as explain and show the details of defensive driving techniques.
During the training, you will receive instruction on:
* Cushion-of-Safety.
* Cornering.
* Proper Situational Tracking.
* Scanning Awareness.
This will help you reduce your chances of getting traffic violations or being involved in an accident by learning to drive more skillfully, more safely and defensively.
Unlike other Au Pair programs, it isn't designed to retrain you or just help to get you use to the host family's vehicle.
Jéssica Bispo (West Orange, New Jersey) - Feb 18, 2018
I'm originally from Brazil and I've been in NJ for 2 months. Because of my language barrier, I hired a Portuguese driving school to teach me. After 3 hours of training I was referred to Mike. After the first lesson, I knew I would learn a lot even with the language barrier.
Unlike the first instructor, Mike explained things before and during my performing. What was a big difference from the other instructor was we reviewed the previous lesson and I was allowed to ask any and all questions.
Cyntia Luíza Trevor (Glen Rock, New Jersey) - Oct 23, 2018
Prior to coming to NJ, I drove for about 1 year in Brazil. Another au pair put me in contact with Mike to prepare for my road test since she used him to pass the test her 2nd time.
I had a few lessons with another driving teacher but he spent more time helping me get accustom to my hosts family SUV and driving around the local area. I liked that Mike was precise with what I needed to improve and with parallel park made it so easy for me with his process.
The program evaluates your skill ability in 25 key areas and helps you improve your driving ability for better safety, handling, and control.
We will explain why certain processes and techniques are better to perform for safety, control and visual awareness in addition to giving you an understanding of how the law can view your actions. You will also be shown defensive driver techniques for some of the more common issues you may encounter that occur in the local driving environment.
You will get a better understanding of the vehicle you will now be driving since it may be very different from a vehicle you drove back home.
We also teach you the do’s & don’ts of driving in the U.S. as well as go over signage, road marking, electronic devices that you may not be familiar with.
We will cover merging, right-of-ways and dealing with tailgaters, cyclist and pedestrians.
You also will be evaluated on the maneuvers that you will be required to perform during the state road test so you have an idea of where to focus your training to pass it the 1st attempt.
Bucie Mlangeni (Livingston, NJ) - Nov 16, 2018
Was a little concerned about taking my road test this morning due to the aftermath of the early snow storm. Mike was very reassuring that all would be fine, and it was. I passed!
His pointers and demonstrating how to control the car and regain traction were very helpful. I had never driven in the snow before. Also the road test preparation before was reassuring since he fixed little mistakes that wouldn't be allowed on the test. Highly recommended Mike to help anyone pass the test.
Morgan Kramm (S. Orange, New Jersey) - Dec 17, 2018
Can’t believe it’s finally over but very glad. Passed the state required test all thanks to Mikes guidance.
His point by point detail of the testing environment in Randolph and how to perform made a nervous ordeal so much easier to get through. Now I see why his well known amongst the Au Pair community.
Some things to remember:
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Vehicles in other countries may not be equipped with the same occupant protection systems and safety features as found in the US. Your ability to understand and use them properly can be a lifesaver.
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Don't allow children to fight or climb around in your car (they should be buckled in their seats always). One accidental bump or too much noise can easily distract you from concentrating on driving safely.
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Whenever possible, drive around in the vehicle you will be required to drive (without the kids), so you get more familiar with the vehicle. When appropriate drive the route so that you are more familiar where you need to go and can address any questions or concerns in advance.
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Driving to prevent collisions can be nerve-racking for drivers not accustomed to so much traffic as you may encounter here.