Chauffeur

A chauffeur (French pronunciation: [ʃofœʁ]) is a person employed to drive a passenger motor vehicle, especially a luxury vehicle such as a large sedan or a limousine.

Originally, such drivers were often personal employees of the vehicle owner, but this has changed to specialist chauffeur service companies or individual drivers that provide both driver and vehicle for hire. Some service companies merely provide the driver.

The term chauffeur comes from the French term for stoker because the earliest automobiles,^[1] like their railroad and sea vessel counterparts, were steam-powered and required the driver to stoke the engine. The chauffeur also maintained the car, including routine maintenance and cleaning, and had to be a skilled mechanic to deal with breakdowns and tyre punctures en route, which were very common in the earliest years of the automobile.^{[citation needed]}

Only the very wealthy could afford the first automobiles, and they generally employed chauffeurs rather than driving themselves. A 1906 article in The New York Times reported that "the chauffeur problem to-day is one of the most serious that the automobilist has to deal with", and complained that "young men of no particular ability, who have been earning from $10 to $12 a week, are suddenly elevated to salaried positions paying from $25 to $50" and recommended the re-training of existing coach drivers.^[2]

While the term may refer to anybody who drives for a living, it usually implies a driver of an elegant passenger vehicle such as a horse-drawn carriage, luxury sedan, motor coach, or especially a limousine; those who operate buses or non-passenger vehicles are generally referred to as "drivers". In some countries, particularly developing nations where a ready supply of labor ensures that even the middle classes can afford domestic staff and among the wealthy,^[3] the chauffeur may simply be called the "driver".

Some people may employ chauffeurs full-time to drive them in their vehicles, while professional services offer on-request limousines or rental cars that include chauffeurs.^[4] This is similar to but much more luxurious than taking a taxicab. A variety of benefits are cited for using chauffeurs, including convenience, productivity, and time savings,^[5] and driving safety for business people^[6] and seniors.^[7] Insurance costs for luxury vehicles are often lower if the designated driver is a chauffeur.^[3]

The legal requirements to be a chauffeur vary depending on the local jurisdiction and class of vehicle. In some cases, a simple permit is all that is required, but in others, an additional professional license is needed with specific minimum standards in areas such as age, health, driving experience, criminal record, local geographic knowledge, or training.^[8][9]

In addition to the minimum legal requirements, limousine companies often require their chauffeurs to undergo specific extra training.^[10] These courses may involve evasive driving or defensive driving techniques, the proper methods to ensure safety in the most extreme conditions such as inclement weather, a flat tire at high speeds, or other exterior influences for loss of vehicular control, etc.

Most companies also have courses on what they expect from their chauffeurs. Chauffeurs may be taught proper etiquette when they are in the presence of their clientele. They may also be trained for services to the client beyond the car itself, such as for a personal valet or bodyguard.

Many companies and local licensing agencies currently require random drug screening^[11] – in the United States, this was especially the case after professional ice hockey player Vladimir Konstantinov's career-ending injuries when his recently hired chauffeur, Richard Gnida, lost control of their limousine and crashed.^[12][13]

• William Greer, chauffeur to John F. Kennedy
• William Grover-Williams, chauffeur to William Orpen
• Leopold Lojka, chauffeur to Archduke Franz Ferdinand
• Julius Schreck, chauffeur to Adolf Hitler from 1926 to 1936
• Kay Summersby, chauffeur to Supreme Commander Allied Expeditionary Force Dwight D. Eisenhower
• Roosevelt Zanders, drove Fidel Castro, Richard Nixon, Winston Churchill, Eleanor Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, and many others^[14]

• Aloysius "Nosey" Parker
• Thomas Watkins
• Bigger Thomas in Native Son
• Driving Miss Daisy: 1987 play, 1989 film, and 2014 film^[15][16]
• Frank Martin, driver in The Transporter series of films
• Tom Branson, chauffeur turned son-in-law of Lord Grantham in Downton Abbey
• Alfred Pennyworth, chauffeur to Batman
• Logan in Logan
• Kato the chauffeur and assistant to The Green Hornet
• Thomas Fairchild, Sabrina's father, in the 1953 play and in the 1954 and 1995 films.

Look up chauffeur in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Media related to Chauffeurs at Wikimedia Commons