Private Cars Used for Business Found to be Un-roadworthy - 2 times out of 3!

An ongoing vehicle monitoring survey found 2 out of 3 private cars driven on company business were not safe to be on the road.

These frightening statistics come from the latest Total Motion Vehicle Monitor Survey, which inspected 5,734 company and privately owned vehicles used for business between April and September 2007.

The survey also revealed that almost 60% of the private cars were not properly maintained and around a third of their drivers were not correctly insured.

71% of the maintenance problems identified were tyre-related and should have been picked up by any driver who conducted basic safety checks. However, 91% of drivers admitted to not making these checks – and 98% said their companies did not verify whether or not they did so.

This latest survey showed a marked deterioration from the previous issue, which covered October 2006 to March 2007. By contrast, the condition of company-owned vehicles continued to improve, with just 0.2% of the vehicles inspected found to be un-roadworthy.

“It is clear that the safety issues raised by private cars being used for business are not being addressed,” says Simon Hill, managing director of Total Motion. “Even where companies are introducing duty of care policies they are failing to enforce them.”

But Mr Hill does not believe that fleet managers and drivers should bear all the responsibility.

“After looking more closely into these results, we believe that leasing suppliers, garages and manufacturers are also partly to blame,” he says.

According to Mr Hill, his research indicates that brokers are encouraging drivers to spend their full cash-for-car allowances on leasing prestige brands, such as Audi, BMW and Mercedes, on a non-maintained basis.

As the vehicle gets older and maintenance costs escalate, a proportion of the drivers cannot afford to have the work done – so creating a potential safety issue.

“If ‘essential’ service and repair costs are not covered by the allowance, our evidence shows that cars are neglected, especially when high interest rates are already reducing the driver’s disposable income,” he says. “We estimate that around a third of drivers surveyed were in this position.”

Mr Hill also thinks that standards within dealerships, garages, tyre fitters and fast fit companies are inadequate. “Many of the faults found by Total Motion inspectors had been previously missed, misdiagnosed or passed as safe by qualified technicians”, he explains.

“The whole industry needs to look at its processes and procedures and refocus on safety rather than profits.”