Whether you are being driven in a black cab, a minicab or an executive chauffeur driven car, perhaps you sometimes wonder how your driver chooses their route.

The traditional – or analogue – way was for the driver to know his city, and have the route in his head. Many local town and city authorities around the country still demand that drivers who apply for a license in their area pass some sort of test, to prove they know where certain destinations are.

The absolute extreme example of this is in London, where drivers seeking a license to drive one of the city’s famous black cabs must prove they have “the knowledge”. The famously difficult test demands an extremely good knowledge of how to get around the capital in the most efficient way. And visitors to London can still see trainee taxi drivers, who often learn their way around by riding a moped on a series of would-be journeys, crisscrossing the city streets. So hard is the test, research has shown that London taxi drivers have an enlarged area of the brain, concerned with spatial awareness.

At the other end of the scale is the digital solution. This is typically used by drivers who might be working for local mini-cab services, or apps such as Uber. Their local knowledge may not be so good, but they believe that relying on a satellite navigation system will deliver the solution. Simply dial in a destination postcode into their smartphone, and the computer will deliver the best solution.

That’s great in theory, but we all know what can go wrong in practice. The sign “Do not follow satnav” has been hoisted in many places around the UK, after digital systems sent drivers up dead-end streets, or sent trucks down narrow country lanes where they got wedged against historic stone cottages. Then there are traffic and roadworks warnings, which – depending on the system being used – can be out of date or simply inaccurate. Inaccurate satnavs can end up sending drivers on a diversion route, when the source of the original blockage has already been cleared.

So, for now, the best solution has to be a combination of digital and analogue. A professional executive chauffeur driven car will use the technology of the satnav to guide his route, but be aware of other factors, including your executive chauffeur’s personal experience, intelligence from colleagues, and whether his passenger is in a rush or prefers a smooth ride as they want to work on their laptop or tablet.

Many modern executive chauffeur driven car’s come with satnav installed within the vehicle, providing a superior service compared to smartphone-based systems, but even these need tempering with some real-world driving experience – especially in the fast-changing environment of a city centre at rush hour. You can rely on your executive chauffeur to use the tools at his disposal to deliver you the best possible journey, so you reach your destination on schedule, with the least hassle possible.

Whether you have a business meeting in London, a business roadshow or entertaining clients at an event, call AA Chauffeurs, one of London’s finest Chauffeur companies, sit back and relax in one of our executive chauffeur driven car’s whilst we get you to and from your destination in pure luxury.

You can book your London chauffeur here or call us on 020 8732 5599