In November we posted a press release on our blog about a new study that indicated au pairs, as a group, drove better than psychologists, lawyers and surgeons! 

I know what you are thinking!  This study cannot be true.  If you have an au pair who drives your car, you may already be shaking your head in disbelief.   I was!

Research based on 10 million user quotes from the UK's leading price comparison site, moneysupermarket.com, reveals that bus drivers are the most likely to be at fault in a car crash with general practioners, psychologists, speech therapists, barristers (lawyers) and surgeons in the top 7 categories to be involved in a "car crash that was their fault."

Those LEAST likely to have to have a "car crash that was their fault" were engravers, horse dealers, zoologists, butlers and au pairs!  Au pairs came in with 1.41% least likely to be in a car crash compared to bus drivers who were listed most likely with 16.30% of the people in the UK reporting these crashes to their auto insurers.

Peter Gerrard, head of insurance research at moneysupermarket.com, stated he worrys that "it is the healthcare professionals who seem to be releasing work-related stress when behind the wheel" noting that doctors, speech therapists, surgeons and psychologists are all among the professions most prone to crash.

How can one explain these statistics as they relate to au pairs?  These are surprising numbers given the stereotype of the au pair who has trouble getting the car out of the garage or gets into fender-benders more frequently than nannies do. 

Perhaps it is a cultural difference, since the study took place in the UK, and au pairs are used to driving on the left hand side of the road.  Many au pairs, particulary from South Africa and the UK, are not used to driving on the right hand side and this adds to their confusion and increases their chance of crashing while in America. 

Or maybe au pairs as a group drive better than American host families give them credit?  It certainly is something to consider.

What do you think and what has your experience been with  your au pairs driving here in the U.S.?   We want to know what host parents experience with their cars and their au pairs.  Please take a few minutes to tell us what your opinion is regarding au pair driving in the U.S.A.  Click here to take our Online Survey

Thank you in advance for taking the time to complete this very short survey!

Source of Study: M2 Presswire, November 5, 2008