A third of British business drivers uninsured

One third of British drivers who drive as part of their job are uninsured for business miles, according to research from telematics company Masternaut.

It reported that, on average, these drivers clock up 4,708 uninsured business miles per year whilst driving for work.

Employees also revealed that they don’t have adequate driver training, with 70 percent of those surveyed saying that their employers do not provide any driver training to ensure they drive safely and efficiently, despite legislation being in place that obliges them to do so. Some 40 percent of British drivers are unaware of such legislation.

Just under a fifth of respondents said that they have had an accident whilst driving for work. When asked who would be liable for such an accident, 80 percent said it would be their responsibility, while 20 percent thought an accident would be their employer’s.

Martin Hiscox, chief executive officer and chairman of Masternaut, said: “Driving for work is recognised as one of the most dangerous occupations and these findings clearly demonstrate a vital need for employers to educate staff on safe driving practises. There is a clear need for this to happen and the technology, the tool-kits for training, monitoring and improving driver behaviour all exist. The insurance industry is spending £2.2 billion in claims annually, processing over 792,000 claims for commercial fleet insurance. This is the tip of the iceberg when you consider on-costs, downtime and the cost to businesses that self-insure.

“It raises a bigger issue for employers about not having visibility of their mobile workforce, so they can ensure they are safe and can put steps in place to spot problems and deal with them. The Telematics industry is making huge steps to help the commercial fleet but even now we are surprised that so few employers are offering their staff the chance to take driver training, to ensure they’re kept safe whilst on the road and helping them be safer and more efficient.”