ROAD accidents involving company-owned vehicles could be costing UK business a staggering £5billion a year. The bleak picture has been highlighted in surveys by Cambridgeshire County Council and the Corporation of London, with the astronomical costs being blamed on business ignorance of the benefits of effective risk management. Now the Government is being urged to back further research to find the exact cost to business of road accidents.

The Corporation of London survey put the cost of accidents to businesses in the 'Square Mile' at £100million a year and the Cambridgeshire research put the cost of accidents involving locally-owned business vehicles at £40million. Taking these two figures, the average cost of accidents to businesses in each of the UK's 94 counties could be £50-£60million. This would put the total cost to business of road crashes between £4.7billion and £5.6billion.

The call for greater Government support was made at a seminar organised by Cambridgeshire County Council and the Institute of Directors has also endorsed the increasing pressure for greater corporate responsibility. A spokesman said: 'In line with seeking to run an efficient business and keeping costs down, it makes good sense to apply the best practise ideals across all areas of a company, including ensuring employees' safety.'