Companies across Europe are being urged to revisit their fleet policies, in particular for grey fleet cars, as new research suggests a large number of business drivers are exposing themselves to occupational road risks.

One in 14 grey fleet vehicles is over 15 years old

Carried out among more than 2,000 grey fleet drivers in the UK, Ireland, Germany, France and Spain, the survey by Enterprise Rent-A-Car found that nearly half (44%) are using a vehicle for business that is more than five years old while around one in eight (13%) drive a car that is more than a decade old and one in 14 grey fleet drivers (7%) are in a vehicle more than 15 years old.

The research also found that more than two in five grey fleet drivers (43%) do not undertake any regular maintenance checks themselves on their cars. Nearly four out of 10 (38%) have never checked the tyre tread, a third (33%) have not looked at engine oil levels and almost half (40%) have never checked if their brake lights are working. Almost a third (30%) admit they have never even opened the car bonnet.

Rob Ingram, director of business rental for Europe at Enterprise Rent-A-Car, said: “It’s very likely that this is something that companies are simply not aware of, and equally, they may not be aware of some of the implications for the business should the driver be involved in an accident due to lack of vehicle maintenance.

“We would advise all European businesses with employees that drive their own vehicles for work to ensure their travel and transport policies cover areas such as vehicle maintenance and routine checks for personal vehicles used for business travel.”

Developing travel policy is an area where we often work with our business customers, not least because this is our day to day work. At Enterprise, for example, every daily rental vehicle is put through a 25-point check before each hire and Enterprise Car Club vehicles in the UK have an inspection every fortnight.