The SLAC ATLAS group has a CERN car, license plate GE 606074. The vehicle is new as of July 2015. It is similar to but different from the old ones: it is a white van, no CERN logo, no white-on-blue CERN car number, remote lock/unlock. It is a stick shift so make sure you are familiar with its operation. There is a new feature: When you turn the key in the ignition, an alarm goes off. You have to place the plastic gadget – more on this later – next to the blinking pod on the left side of the steering wheel to silence the alarm.

It is your personal responsibility to follow all rules governing use of the CERN car. The following highlights some of the points but is not intended to be exhaustive. 

Since the car expenses are paid out of the Team Account, its use must therefore follow the boundary conditions of the corresponding SLAC Purchase Order. "The SLAC ATLAS Team Account at CERN, paid out of Purchase Order 61224, is used only for performing work on the ATLAS Experiment. This does not include employee reimbursable expenses or employee travel."

You must have a CERN Driving License to use the car. Go to EDH, click "Other Tasks" and "Car Driving Authorisation", fill out the form, submit it and wait for notification it has been approved. The notification includes information on getting your own plastic gadget to silence the alarm. As this might expire quietly without warning, it is worth checking the license validity before you go to CERN. Its status can be found in ADaMS under "training & permits". 

Note that the CERN Driving License does not allow you to drive off-site such as going to the SLAC apartment; you will also need a Mission Order to do so. Go to EDH, click "Other Tasks" and then "Mission Order". Mission Orders have to be renewed every calendar year. (Edit by AndyS: I tried to request Mission Order for travel St-Genis-Poilly and Prevessin and it was refused, both locations are considered inside CERN perimeter so Mission Order is not required for them. To see the map of CERN perimeter see last page of "Operational Circular No. 04", also  linked from https://admin-eguide.web.cern.ch/en/procedure/official-vehicles)

According to Conditions of Use, drivers need to have the following papers with them while driving a CERN car: national driving license, passport or ID, CERN attestation, Mission order (if going outside CERN perimeter).

You should only fill up at at the fuel pumps on the west side of Building 130. There is a badge attached to the car key. Hold it next to the icon on the pump, answer some questions like mileage and fuel type (Sans Plomb, not Gasol) and fill up. This facility is supposed to be operational 24/7. If you fill up elsewhere, mileage and amount of fuel would fall outside of expectations the next time you go to Building 130. You then have to go to the transportation office, beg for forgiveness before you can fill up. 

The plastic gadget: Since each driver has his/her own gadget, there is now a record of who is driving at any time. And since the CERN car has GPS tracking, there is a record of who has driven where. Don't even think about driving it beyond the allowed area. Note that this allowed area is not necessarily the same for everyone – see Mission Order.  You can pick up your personal plastic gadget in building 124, as explained in this newsletter.

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