Route planning for a VIP

A map shows the shortest route; it does not show that at 08:15 the street jams with school traffic, that the bridge has roadworks, or that at the last traffic light the car sits still for two minutes next to a bus stop. Only someone who drove it at the same hour finds these.

• Journey time: at the hour of the real movement, not at night on empty roads.
• Choke points: bridges, narrow streets, one-way systems, junctions where the car has to stop.
• The day’s changes: roadworks, street markets, schools at closing time, scheduled events and marches.
• Stopping points: where the vehicle can safely pull over if it has to.
• Mobile coverage: spots where signal drops, so the team knows when it will be out of contact.

A reconnaissance has an expiry date. It is done as close to the movement as possible, and on the day the team confirms nothing has changed — road closures are often announced at the last minute.

1. Primary: the smoothest at the time of travel, with few forced stops and good access to the safe havens.
2. Alternate: shares no choke point with the primary, and is checked on the recce too, not just on the map.
3. Emergency route: from every point on the schedule to the nearest hospital.
4. Decision points: the junctions where the car can switch from primary to alternate, marked on the plan.
5. Who decides: the team lead, on criteria agreed beforehand — not a debate inside the car.

The plan does not rely on closed roads or priority in traffic. The team plans around the city’s traffic; it does not control it: Greek Law 2518/1997 states that the activities of security companies do not affect the competences of the state authorities (art. 1 §4).

A safe haven is a point on the map the team knows in advance: where it is, which side the car goes in, where it stops, how far it is from the primary and the alternate. When something goes wrong, nobody is searching on a phone.

• Hospitals: address, vehicle entrance, time from each stretch of the route; on the day of the movement, confirm it is taking patients at that hour.
• Police stations: address and where the vehicle can pull up.
• Hotels or buildings with a 24-hour front desk: places with people and light where the principal can wait.
• One per stretch: every section of the route has at least one safe haven within reasonable distance.

Safe havens are places, not promises. The plan notes where they are and how to reach them; it does not assume what service each one will provide.

• Time windows, not times: the schedule says “depart 08:00–08:20”, not “08:00 sharp”.
• Rotating routes: where a movement repeats (home–office), primary and alternate take turns.
• Rotating entrances: not always the same door, not always the same parking space.
• Not too early: a car waiting fifteen minutes outside a building tells everyone who is coming.
• No delays: waiting on the pavement for a late car is the worst moment of the day.

Variety does not mean disorder: every option is in the plan and has been checked. The day’s choice is simply made known as late as possible, and only to those who need it.

1. Where it stops: as close to the door as possible, somewhere it is allowed to stand.
2. How it leaves: the car must be able to pull away forwards, with no reversing or U-turn.
3. Which door: main or service, agreed with the venue; the door is open, or someone is there to open it.
4. Wait inside, not outside: every venue has a waiting point indoors, so the principal comes out only when the car is already there.
5. Alternate point: if there is a crowd, press or roadworks at the entrance, the team already knows where to go.

Coordinating with hotels and event venues — which contact, which entrance, which staff know the name — is covered in the close protection and VIP security guide.

• The driver: took part in the recce, and does not follow satnav blindly.
• The vehicle: fuel, chargers, first-aid kit, water — checked before every movement, not once a day.
• One channel: one radio net or one call group, not messages across five apps.
• Code words: for “switching to alternate”, “going to a safe haven”, “all fine” — so nothing is explained out loud in front of others.
• Arrival check-in: each leg closes with a short “arrived” to the person monitoring.

The plan includes no weapons, no traffic offences and no film-style manoeuvres. A movement is as safe as its preparation — as safe as the fact that nobody in the car has to improvise.

• Information discipline: the schedule is not forwarded to group chats, not printed for everyone and not posted; the driver knows the movements, not what is discussed in the meetings.
• Bookings: where possible, under a name that does not give the principal away.
• After-action note: time against plan, route changes and why, every incident or observation with time and place.
• Reuse: the note updates the route file, so the next recce starts from what you already know.

Who holds the itinerary on a business trip is covered in executive travel security; how to write an incident up properly, in the incident report guide. Protection of natural persons, and planning measures for it, are services that Law 2518/1997 lists among the activities of security companies (art. 1 §1(β) and (η)).

OVIT records incidents and reports in the Guardly platform, so the client and the team see the same picture, and a real person answers the operations desk. Ask for a proposal for the person or the schedule you have in mind; if you are interested in the job from the other side, see how to become a bodyguard.