The origin of the term driver, as recorded from the 15th century, refers to the occupation of driving working animals, especially pack horses or draft horses. The verb ' to drive ' in origin means "to force to move, to impel by physical force". It is first recorded of electric railway drivers in 1889 and of a motor-car driver in 1896. Early alternatives were motorneer, motor-man, motor-driver or motorist. French favors "conducteur" (the English equivalent, "conductor", being used —from the 1830s— not of the driver but of the person in charge of passengers and collecting fares), while German influenced areas adopted Fahrer (used of coach-drivers in the 18th century, but shortened about 1900 from the compound Kraftwagenfahrer), and the verbs führen, lenken, steuern —all with a meaning "steer, guide, navigate"— translating to conduire. Steering is the collection of components, linkages, etc. which allows any vehicle (car, motorcycle, bicycle) to follow the desired course. An exception is the case of rail transport by which rail tracks combined together with railroad switches (and also known as 'points' in British English) provide the steering function. The primary purpose of the steering system is to allow the driver to guide the vehicle.
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