# What Does A Chauffeur Do? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 18, 2011, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-a-chauffeur-do/585943 "2011-06-18T16:57:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2011, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-a-chauffeur-do/585943/21 "2011-06-19T03:43:09Z")
[quote=“Gary “Wombat” Robson, post:16, topic:585943”] See post #8 [/QUOTE] Dammit! That’s what I get for skimming. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2011, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-a-chauffeur-do/585943/22 "2011-06-19T03:54:33Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Some super rich or influential people have armored limos with specially trained chauffeurs. They complete several high performance driving courses designed to reduce the risk of kidnap or assignation. They can do bootleg U-turns on a dime. Crash through roadblocks. Evade pursing vehicles etc. Very important training in places like Italy where kidnapping is a thriving enterprise. > > I recall a nasty assassination a few years ago. They shot a missile into the limo. Went through the armor like butter. Killed the bodyguards, the rich guy, chauffeur etc. True - some chauffeurs are also supposed to be bodyguards. I know this mainly because Di chose to take her bodyguard in addition to a chauffeur with dubious credentials, instead of a chauffeur cum bodyguard as was the norm. Hollywood movies would tell you that chauffeurs have a higher death rate than redshirts. Obviously, that’s not like real life, but I guess bodyguarding is an extra task some chauffeurs could be tasked with. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2011, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-a-chauffeur-do/585943/23 "2011-06-19T04:40:29Z")
> [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](#): > > Sometimes, the lady of the house. > [@](#): > > aceplace57Some super rich or influential people have armored limos with specially trained chauffeurs. They complete several high performance driving courses designed to reduce the risk of kidnap or **assignation**. Now you guys are just trying to confuse me. . . ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2011, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-a-chauffeur-do/585943/24 "2011-06-19T05:06:26Z")
> [@cmyk](#): > > Dammit! That’s what I get for skimming. No problem. But next time we meet in a bar in Casablanca, _you_ buy the drinks! ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2011, 7:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-a-chauffeur-do/585943/25 "2011-06-19T07:33:12Z")
I lived in Aceh, Indonesia. I’d go down to Jakarta from time to time where it wasn’t unusual for expats to have drivers. Usually, you rented a car and it came with a driver. The driver took you where you wanted, waited until you were ready to come home, helped carry stuff in from the car, and kind of hung around, usually in the kitchen. For a certain type of expat (often oil execs), the driver also: got weed, booze, or other drugs; picked up and dropped off hookers when the wife went back to the states for a visit; kept his mouth shut. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2011, 8:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-a-chauffeur-do/585943/26 "2011-06-19T08:05:53Z")
> [@SciFiSam](#): > > True - some chauffeurs are also supposed to be bodyguards. I know this mainly because Di chose to take her bodyguard in addition to a chauffeur with dubious credentials, instead of a chauffeur cum bodyguard as was the norm. > > Hollywood movies would tell you that chauffeurs have a higher death rate than redshirts. Obviously, that’s not like real life, but I guess bodyguarding is an extra task some chauffeurs could be tasked with. I think it’s not so much that they’re chauffeurs who act as bodyguards, but rather bodyguards who also drive the boss’s car. Essentially, this means that they don’t wait in the car, but instead follow the boss around to provide security. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2011, 11:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-a-chauffeur-do/585943/27 "2011-06-19T11:06:44Z")
Do chauffeurs still wear cool uniforms? (Black tunics, uniform cap, black leather boots and gloves)? ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2011, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-a-chauffeur-do/585943/28 "2011-06-19T11:45:14Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > I used to have a neighbor that had a chauffeur plus some other full-time help. She was some kind of older heiress who was mentally disabled so you she needed help for everything. The chauffeur drove her around in a black Lincoln Town Car but it isn’t like they drove around all that much. He was usually out in the driveway polishing the car. He washed and polished the car every single day as far I could tell. I doubt he made all that much money but it seemed like an easy, low-stress job. Sounds like “Driving Miss Crazy”. ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2011, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-a-chauffeur-do/585943/29 "2011-06-19T11:47:19Z")
Maybe you should get some DVD’s of hart to hart and see what Max did- apart from feeding Freeway. ---
**Author:** ![Spud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spud/32/347_2.png) [@Spud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spud)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2011, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-a-chauffeur-do/585943/30 "2011-06-19T14:27:53Z")
I live in an area with an odd mix of “regular folks” (like us) and very rich people (own professional sports teams). We have kids that play travel sports and so we tend to mingle. I don’t know anyone who has a chauffeur but do know someone with a private jet. I don’t remember where we were but there was a local river boat casino that people were talking about going to and someone mentioned that we could take “John’s” (not his real name) jet to Vegas instead. He normally pilots his jet but had a glass or two of wine with dinner so gave us a number… said we could take his jet but he shouldn’t fly it. We ended up going to the river boat but there was obviously a group on stand by that would have been happy to drop everything and fly a bunch of drunk soccer dads to Vegas on short notice. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2011, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-a-chauffeur-do/585943/31 "2011-06-19T14:48:26Z")
> [@Cicero](#): > > Sounds like “Driving Miss Crazy”. +1. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2011, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-a-chauffeur-do/585943/32 "2011-06-19T16:26:14Z")
> [@Cicero](#): > > Sounds like “Driving Miss Crazy”. Oh, sure, but nobody got my _Driving Miss Daisy_ reference. I might as well have gone with the Duran Duran joke. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2011, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-a-chauffeur-do/585943/33 "2011-06-19T17:19:24Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > I think in the early twentieth century, cars were unreliable enough that it was necessary for a chauffeur to be a part-time mechanic. Now, cars are reliable enough that it’s not necessary, so many wealthy people drive themselves around. Not to mention that, even if you do have the skills and knowledge of a mechanic, fixing modern cars requires considerably more than a socket set. If a Mercedes S-Class or a BMW 7 Series or a Bentley Mulsanne (the sort of car a person who has a chauffeur might own) have any problem more complicated than a flat tire or low engine coolant, the only way to diagnose the problem is to plug the car into an expensive and complicated diagnostic computer. This is generally not the sort of thing that you just buy and keep in the garage. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2011, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-a-chauffeur-do/585943/34 "2011-06-20T18:20:27Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > Why? My grandparents had a couple, it relates to the size and arrangement of living quarters provided. If there is only a single bedroom and sitting room, you can’t put a non married couple in [or a non significant other couple] Come to think of it, so did my great aunt, and my great grandfather [the servants rooms at the perry house were a bedroom and a sitting room, and a 10x10 nook off the kitchen with a closet for coats and outside gear, and in pictures of it from the very early 1900s a rather comfortable looking table and chairs for meals.] Discrimination by requiring the two employees to be partnered in a civil marriage (i.e., registered partners are not acceptable, shacking up is not acceptable, religious marriage with no civil counterpart is not acceptable), discrimination by requiring the marriage be heterosexual, discrimination by linking to gender two separate jobs which are not linked to gender by the actual job requirements. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2011, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-a-chauffeur-do/585943/35 "2011-06-20T18:47:00Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > Not to mention that, even if you do have the skills and knowledge of a mechanic, fixing modern cars requires considerably more than a socket set. > > If a Mercedes S-Class or a BMW 7 Series or a Bentley Mulsanne (the sort of car a person who has a chauffeur might own) have any problem more complicated than a flat tire or low engine coolant, the only way to diagnose the problem is to plug the car into an expensive and complicated diagnostic computer. This is generally not the sort of thing that you just buy and keep in the garage. If I spend $200,000 on a car, you can bet the computer is coming with it. . . or at least the ability to download info to theirs on-line and get the diagnostic info. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2011, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-a-chauffeur-do/585943/36 "2011-06-20T18:59:11Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > It’s like firemen. They don’t go out on calls all the time, but they have activities they have to do, when they’re not fighting fires. Building decks? ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2011, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-a-chauffeur-do/585943/37 "2011-06-20T19:01:05Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > Discrimination by requiring the two employees to be partnered in a civil marriage (i.e., registered partners are not acceptable, shacking up is not acceptable, religious marriage with no civil counterpart is not acceptable), > discrimination by requiring the marriage be heterosexual, > discrimination by linking to gender two separate jobs which are not linked to gender by the actual job requirements. So as long a part of the job includes being watched in the bedroom, all is kosher. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2011, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-a-chauffeur-do/585943/38 "2011-06-20T19:30:17Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > If I spend $200,000 on a car, you can bet the computer is coming with it. . . or at least the ability to download info to theirs on-line and get the diagnostic info. Still doesn’t mean you’d be able to fix the car. Would you, for example, know what to do if the computer told you that the fuel injection system was incorrectly calibrated? I doubt the chauffeur would either. The fact is, as **Dewey Finn** suggested, the reliability of modern cars combined with their complexity means that it would be rather pointless to expect your chauffeur to also be a mechanic. If he can change a tire and keep fluids (windshield wiper etc.) filled, that’s all you’d really need. ---
**Author:** ![Jaledin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Jaledin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaledin)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2011, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-a-chauffeur-do/585943/39 "2011-06-20T19:56:22Z")
They have them fancy hats – always wanted one of them. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2011, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-a-chauffeur-do/585943/40 "2011-06-20T20:12:15Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > Discrimination by requiring the two employees to be partnered in a civil marriage (i.e., registered partners are not acceptable, shacking up is not acceptable, religious marriage with no civil counterpart is not acceptable), > discrimination by requiring the marriage be heterosexual, > discrimination by linking to gender two separate jobs which are not linked to gender by the actual job requirements. OK, I hire you to be my cook. I also hired Mr Gravekeeper from a different message board to drive and be handyman. You are now going to share a bedroom. happy? No idea about Spain offhand, but in the US you can write a want ad for a job any way you like, and if I were looking for a couple to do cooking, cleaning, yard work, general handyman and driving, I would post an add: Couple wanted to do cooking, cleaning, general handyman and driving. Room, board, and $36000 per year salary. No medical/dental. Wednesday afternoon and Sundays off. \ The married is implied. Heterosexual is implied, though I could add something about EOE [equal opportunity employer] if it even occurred to me. I would also probably hire from word of mouth instead of an ad, but that is beside the point. There are some job types that _are_ traditionally served by married couples - traditionally ‘caretaker’ when a couple is looked for it is specifically the woman will maintain the cleanliness of the house, and the man will take care of the outside, cars, boats and maintenance as an example. My grandparents had a couple in Canada for the vacation house, one in NY for the summer house there, and a couple in Florida for the winter house. [in addition to a ladys maid that traveled with my grandmother.] [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-a-chauffeur-do/585943.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-a-chauffeur-do/585943.md?page=3)