THESE days if a staff member driving on business is blamed for an accident while at the wheel his or her own car then the company boss could be held accountable.
It is all to do with the 2007 Corporate Manslaughter Act and the rise of the so called 'grey fleets.'
These are vehicles owned by the employee, yet used on company business.
Before 2007 employees using their own cars was a financially advantageous cop out for firms striving to save on the cost of purchase, lease and maintenance of company cars. It was much cheaper to pay the employee a mileage rate instead.
But 2007 put a whole new complexion on the matter because the Corporate Manslaughter Act could see bosses in trouble if an employee is guilty of a serious driving offence.
The grey fleets are here to stay but the fact remains that one in three road accidents involve a vehicle being driven for work making it essential that employers need to ensure their staff are safe behind the wheel.
But there is now a tracking device that can be plugged into a company or employee's car's cigarette lighter. This will enable firms to see where the vehicle is and report on how it is being driven. It will flag up any serious speeding or harsh driving styles which could lead to accidents.
The device is produced by Trimble, a leading telematics company who, naturally predict a great future for it.
There are a number of ways of looking at this. Is it a Big Brother move that tells the employer where the employee's car is or is it way of keeping an employee on the road while maintaining vital safeguards?
In the device's favour it is removed for private mileage and is a way of getting round the recent insistence of some companies that insist staff either use other forms of transport or go on to a company car scheme which can mean additional employee cost.
Either way, you can be sure that tracking devices such as this are here to stay.
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