More
than half of UK drivers who use their own cars for work trips – the so-called
grey fleet - may be using a vehicle that is not legally safe to drive for
business travel, according to new research.
A survey
of 1,000 UK drivers by Enterprise Rent-A-Car found that 54 per cent say they
do not conduct basic safety checks before a long trip of a hundred miles or
more. Nearly one in five (19 per cent) say they currently have a warning light
showing and do not plan to have it checked.
The car rental company said, “Employers are
legally responsible for the condition and roadworthiness of any car used for
work, even if it is owned by the employee.”
The
findings come at a time of increased use of personal cars for business
purposes, said the company.
“The
pandemic has led to many more employees using their own car for business, as
well as more journeys being classed as a business trip as the home becomes the
new main place of work,” it said.
The survey revealed that more than half of grey fleet drivers (57%) chose to defer their
MOT annual vehicle check-up due to Covid-19. The average age of vehicles in the
survey was four years, nine months.
Paul McCorkell, assistant vice
president of business mobility for the UK and Ireland at Enterprise, said: “The
grey fleet is shaping into a bigger challenge for employers than perhaps it’s
ever been before. With more people working from home, and data showing that
used car demand and prices are both heading upwards post-lockdown, many
employees may now plan to buy a second-hand car and use it for business travel.”
Enterprise estimates that before Covid-19, there were as many as 14 million grey fleet
vehicles on UK roads.