History Main / GetawayDriver

* In the ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}'' episode "The Big Salad", Kramer becomes this for a golfing buddy after the man commits a crime, feeling indirectly responsible. [[note]] They'd had an argument prior to his encounter with the victim and Kramer fears that [[MisplacedRetribution he took his anger at him out on the other man.]]

* In the ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}'' episode "The Big Salad", Kramer becomes this for a golfing buddy after the man commits a crime, feeling indirectly responsible.

[[quoteright:350:[[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoV https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/getaway_driver_0.jpg]]]]

* In ''ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}'' story ''ComicBook/TheDeathOfLuthor'', Lex tasks one of his minions with being the getaway driver as he and his remainder goons loot a bank.
* In the Dortmunder novels by Donald Westlake Stan Murch frequently served as the getaway driver for the string put together by Dortmunder in each novel.

* A string of side missions in ''VideoGame/SleepingDogs'' has Wei being a getaway driver for Calvin whenever he does something outrageous, like ''[[TooDumbToLive detonating a bomb at the police station while standing in front of it]].'' The second time Wei does it, he tells Calvin that if he's going to keep pulling shit like that, he needs to learn to drive.

** In ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoViceCity'', Tommy Vercetti needs a getaway driver for his BankRobbery project. That guy is set up to be Hilary King, who Vercetti has to best in a pretty hard street race (among the hardest in the game) to recruit. [[FinaglesLaw Unfortunately]], Hilary gets killed by {{SWAT team}}s outside the bank during the robbery (he had the [[TooDumbToLive bright idea]] of donning the same outfit as the rest of the gang and get out of the car guns blazing in plain view of the SWAT, though to be fair they were blocking the way), so of course it's up to Tommy to drive the team away eventually. The aforementioned hard street race was thus AllForNothing. At least, as Tommy points out when the team celebrates pulling off the heist, everyone gets a bigger share.

** In ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoViceCity'', Tommy Vercetti needs a getaway driver for his BankRobbery project. That guy is set up to be Hilary King, who Vercetti has to best in a pretty hard street race (among the hardest in the game) to recruit. [[FinaglesLaw Unfortunately]], Hilary gets killed by {{SWAT team}}s outside the bank during the robbery (he had the [[TooDumbToLive bright idea]] of donning the same outfit as the rest of the gang and get out of the car guns blazing in plain view of the SWAT, though to be fair they were blocking the way), so of course it's up to Tommy to drive the team away eventually. The aforementioned hard street race was thus AllForNothing.

** In ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoViceCity'', Tommy Vercetti needs a getaway driver for his BankRobbery project. That guy is set up to be Hilary King, who Vercetti has to best in a pretty hard street race (among the hardest in the game) to recruit. Unfortunately, Hilary gets killed by SWAT teams outside the bank during the robbery, so of course it's up to Tommy to drive the team away eventually. The aforementioned hard street race was thus AllForNothing.

* An episode of ''WesternAnimation/SpongebobSquarepants'' has a criminal using [[DrivesLikeCrazy SpongeBob]] as a getaway driver by pretending to be his new driving instructor. In this case, the criminal is the one in real danger.

If the getaway driver is a main character, they'll likely live. But if they're a minor character, they may [[DisposablePilot take one for the team]] after they [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness got away from the heist]] (sort of a criminal underworld {{Redshirt}}). As well, if they are a minor character, the gang leader may make it a practice to do a [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder little downsizing on the team]] after heists.

* A string of side missions in ''VideoGame/SleepingDogs'' has Wei being a getaway driver for Calvin whenever he does something outrageous, like, oh I don't know, ''[[TooDumbToLive detonating a bomb at the police station while standing in front of it]].'' The second time Wei does it, he tells Calvin that if he's going to keep pulling shit like that, he needs to learn to drive.

Instead of a car, it may be a boat or other vehicle. If the item being stolen is large, a van or truck may be used. In some cases, the bad guys choose an unusual and conspicuous vehicle as a getaway ride (ambulance), as it is less likely to be thought of as a getaway vehicle.

In RealLife, criminals go to the extra expense of hiring a getaway driver because having one of the heist gunmen double as a driver would mean that the car would be unattended during the robbery; a truck might double park beside it, blocking it. Second, the gunman would be multitasking--splitting their attention between the robbery phase and the escape phase. With a dedicated driver, they only have a single task, so they can focus on it.

In RealLife, criminals go to the extra expense of hiring a getaway driver because having one of the heist gunmen double as a driver would mean that the car would be unattended during the robbery. Second, the gunman would be multitasking--splitting their attention between the robbery phase and the escape phase. With a dedicated driver, [[YouHadOneJob they only have a single task]], so they can focus on it.