We’ve had a few threads down through the years about freelance killers for hire but I don’t think we’ve had (nor could I find with search) a question about getaway drivers.
I was watching Driver the other day and it reminded me of other movies such as The Driver, Transporter, etc. My first thought is that there are a ton of crimes that would need a dedicated driver. But then, maybe not. Maybe that’s the stuff of movies. Real life crimes are probably planned as to minimize exposure. I don’t know.
Given that there are probably specialists like safe crackers, are there really criminals who specialize in driving getaway cars?
I doubt it - while it is plausible to plan burglaries and get away with cracking safes - I don’t think any crime that would need a getaway driver - that the skill of the driver is such that he/she can constantly outsmart/drive the police. It you need a getaway driver - that is cause speed is of the essence - you are basically taking a HUGE gamble - one that you will eventually lose.
I don’t think the issue in initially choosing a getaway driver is being a better driver than the police. The problem is splitting the loot. You have to pay everyone involved something, and everyone involved presents some risk.
If a getaway is necessary, even if the police are never aware of it, the car is vital. Thus the driver is sort of a guard for the car, even before the others return–so you can rarely just use one of the active participants in the robbery as your driver.
Of course it’s tempting to use someone you already trust as a driver–your brother, perhaps. But once you get into the finances, figuring out what the split is (which takes into account possibility of time in prison, which usually isn’t less just because you sat in the car the whole time), why NOT pay an expert in driving at top speed in crowded streets?
Certainly most robberies are committed in a very unprofessional way, and that includes the driving. But some are well planned to minimize risk as much as possible, and that includes hiring a driver who practices his skills just like the other members of the team. Why accept less?
A getaway driver is only useful when the police don’t have access to aircraft. There are three scenarios:
The police don’t become aware of your crime at all, in which case the getaway driver is useless because he has to drive normally in traffic to avoid drawing attention
The police discover the crime and chase you, in which case they’ll radio in a helicopter you can’t possibly out-driver no matter how skilled you are
The police discover the crime and no aircraft is available - here is the potential for a getaway driver to help you escape
A getaway driver was useful before the widespread use of police radio.
A good driver knew the area well. The shortest route to the county line, which dirt road would save you a two miles vs the state road.
Police didn’t have a lot of training in fast driving. If one was skilled, he could overcome any advantage the police had in number of cars.
He was a lookout while the robbery was in progress and the getaway was faster if you didn’t have to run to the car, get in and crank it over. Cars didn’t start and run as easily as they do now.
A good driver could fix the car when it broke down. He also knew how to hot wire a new vehicle and which were fastest and handled well.
Consider a different kind of getaway driver - the bootlegger. In both autos and boats, the driver was a very important part of distributing liquor and it was a very specialized position. A good driver was paid well.
Roy James, one of the getaway drivers for the British Great Train Robbers was a promising Formula 2 driver who claimed he only went into getaway driving to fund a Formula1 (Grand Prix) career.
Good points all. I think the idea that they were more common before widespread use of radios is probably the right answer. I guess the romantic holdover from the bootleg days is the reason it’s still a movie theme.
BTW, in my memory The Driver was a pretty good movie. I liked Bruce Dern in it.
Yeah, I think aircraft are used a lot out West but I rarely see them used in the East. Still, radio communications and better cooperation between local and state police have made it very difficult to outrun the law. My impression from the old movies was that you just had to get over the county or state line and you were clear. The FBI that well organized either.
IMO, a larger impediment than improved police tactics is traffic. There aren’t many places you can go where you won’t get slowed down in a blockage that allows the law to catch up. They didn’t used to have stop signs every 100 yards like they do now.
I’m sure there are benefits to having a getaway driver for armed robbery, but fewer than before. Should the need ever arise though, I want Elwood Blues as my pilot.
In the DC Metro area, there is an incident every six months or so of police giving up on a high speed chase because of the danger to other motorists. Granted these are not in pursuit of bank robbers, apparently just joy riders, but it seems you can outrun Motorola.
Car chases are exciting so making your protagonist a getaway driver leads to exciting car chase scenes. And making your protagonist the driver allows him to be associated with the crime without directly committing the crime, so you don’t risk losing audience sympathy. You can even play it up by having your driver protagonist be more sympathetic than his criminal partners.
In real life, driving a car is not a special skill and few crimes are going to rely on the ability to drive away from the crime scene really fast - doing so would just attract police attention. So in real life crimes, the driver/lookout is probably the lowest status and lowest paid job in the criminal gang. Being left in the car during the crime is the equivalent of being told to cover right field.
The question is, “are there really criminals who specialize in driving getaway cars?”
Many of the responses here are in the same category–attempting to outdrive the police/helicopters/phones rarely ends well for the criminals. While true, that’s not an argument to not have a getaway driver–it’s an argument to not commit robbery.
Robbery occurs.
Of course the vast majority of bank robberies are committed by desperate amateurs, often drug addicts. But it seems clear to me that this question is referring to career criminals.
“In real life, driving a car is not a special skill”
This is not true.
There are gangs that specialize in robbery. They recruit people they think will be helpful to them, such as those with military experience. Most of the time, the reason they’re better at robbery is that they WON’T start shooting unnecessarily. The other reason is, if shooting starts they’re better at it.
For a driver, you similarly get someone you trust to do the job well. Most of the time, that job is to remain calm and not attract attention. But if a chase becomes possible you want someone skilled at it, and that includes training in your role. Driving fast in traffic takes regular practice, just like any other skill.
Yes, there are there really criminals who specialize in driving getaway cars. That said, roles are fluid and you work with as few people as possible. I think the idea that someone has a career in which they are only The Driver is pure Hollywood.
+1 to the above. The idea of a skilled stunt driver who plans on attempting to out-run the police is pure Hollywood.
More likely, the criminals assign themselves specific tasks as part of their plan. As in, “Bob will sit in the car while Frank breaks in…” I can see the benefit of having someone assigned to operate the vehicle and plan the “exfiltration,” but no sane person PLANS on racing the cops.
