what is the difference between drivers and pilots? why are cars and truck etc drivers while planes and ships are pilots
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“Driving” as a term originated from wagoneers who would drive their steers/horses, in the same way that a cowboy “drives” cattle. As cars moved from being “carriages” to “horseless carriages” to “automobiles”, the name stuck. [edit] (“Steering wheel” originates from the same basic concept, incidentally.)
“Pilot” can be thought of as a more generic term for “someone who operates a machine in order to cause it to move in a desired direction”, and it actually does come up in technical lingo from time to time (the part of the car where the driver sits is also often called the “cabin”, just like the space inside aircraft). In other words, most drivers are also pilots of their automobiles, although I imagine most people would laugh at anyone who actually insisted they were a pilot for driving a car.
Pilots for ships are local specialists who come aboard just to manage the entry to or exit from a harbour or similar region of navigational hazards. Most of the time ships are steered without the involvement of any pilot.
I love this stuff.
Horse drawn carriages were operated by someone who drove the horses forward, or a “driver.” The advent of automobiles removed the horse but kept the operator, but the term “driver” stuck. (jtgibson describes this better in their reply)
The term pilot historically refers to the person steering/operating a boat rudder. The first (steerable) airships were controlled with a rudder, so the operator is still called a pilot.
Historically:
* Drivers drive horses and cattle along. Horses and oxen where used to move wagons. The term evolved to include trucks and other land vehicles.
* The etymology “pilot” is French (with roots in Italian and Greek) meaning “one who steers the ship.” A pilot had local knowledge of a harbour would be invited on board to take the helm and safely navigate the ship into or out of harbour (still essential today). For the duration of the passage, the pilot was (is) fully responsible for the ship, and any consequences of navigational errors.
Since aircraft require substantial skill not just to operate, but also to navigate, and since great responsibility is vested in the flighty crew, the word “pilot” was eventually extended to refer to one who steers an airplane.
Pilot can be used to describe the person in control of any means of conveyance where the operation/navigation of such requires a high degree of skill and risk management.
Cars and trucks drive on roads.
Planes and ships do not have a road to follow, they have to navigate in the air or sea.
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