THE results of a survey into the attitudes of company car drivers has found a ‘worrying level’ of employees opting out of traditional company car schemes.

Such a move could put lives at risk and damage the environment unless employers put stringent measures in place governing the use of vehicles used under cash-for-car schemes.

Companies which have not put any measures into place that ensure the safety of drivers using their own cars should ban the use of cash-for-car schemes, according to fleet management company Masterlease.

Its comments are in response to a NOP World Automotive survey, which found a quarter of business drivers had opted out of company car schemes where maintenance and servicing come as standard.

The survey also found that 74% of drivers said they did not know the CO2 rating for their current car, demonstrating that left to their own devices fleet drivers in the UK would not contribute to cleaner motoring.

Masterlease managing director Garry Hobson said: ‘Companies should simply say no to employees who want to use their own vehicles for business unless the business has in place rigorous tests to examine the cars’ suitability and roadworthiness.

‘Employees want to feel a little individual which is often why they come out of schemes in the first place but the company has a duty of care to its employees and must ensure that the car that is being used for business meets stringent safety requirements.

‘The company must be able to demonstrate that it took all reasonable precautions to make sure the driver and vehicles were safe by regularly checking service or MOT records and tyres, for example.’

Hobson said fleets could get round the problem by allowing the driver to lease their own vehicle but have the maintenance looked after by a leasing company.