LATEST statistics indicate that employees are ditching their company vehicles in droves.

Only last month it was reported that more than a third (39%) of employees opt for a cash alternative now compared to just 10% a decade ago.

The lure of a cash sum appears to be too much of a temptation for drivers to turn down but as they continue to shun the company car, concerns have been raised about the duty of care issues associated with employees using their own vehicles for business use.

Risk management can be a minefield even when the fleet manager is in full control of vehicles, but additional considerations must be added to the equation when non-company cars are in use.

In order to help fleets cover their backs when operating vehicles not included on company books, Dr Will Murray, research director at Interactive Driving Systems, has compiled a cash-for-car self audit for fleets, which we have reproduced.

The following statements cover both cash-for-car and non-cash-for-cars users of private vehicles (occasional business use). Fleet managers are advised to write in a ‘yes’ response to all the statements that are in place for the organisation, ‘no’ to those that are not and ‘nk’ if the answer is not known.

If operating a cash alternative or drivers are using their own vehicle for business use fleet managers should ideally aim to achieve ‘yes’ across the board.

Any statemwents which generate a ‘no’ or ‘nk’ answer may have to be addressed with appropriate measures. Some omissions may be more simple to rectify than others, however.

Print out the assesment form by downloading the PDF here.