DT today

Firms to be liable for company car safety

Firms which fail to ensure staff drive safely in company cars could be prosecuted as part of a police campaign to reduce the number of fatal accidents.

In the last year there were more than 1,000 crashes resulting in deaths which involved work vehicles and companies have been found to ignore employee's welfare on the road.
Police will carry out checks to make sure firm have carried out basic procedures such as ensuring staff are properly insured, have an MoT test for their vehicles and have a valid driving license.
They will also check that managers are not making excessive demands on employees by forcing them to drive when tired.
The new laws will come into force from April next year as part of the Corporate Manslaughter Act which means firms could end up in court by causing death by negligence.
The move comes as recent research by the Health and Safety Executive shows that 20 people are killed and 250 are seriously injured in crashes involving people who were driving for work duties.
More than half of companies fail to check that employees using their own cars for work have insured them for business use, according to a survey by Arval, a fleet management company.
The report stated: "Just over a quarter ask staff to produce an MoT certificate while 17 per cent check to make sure that cars used for work-related purposes have been maintained regularly. "
The Metropolitan Police is one of several forces who are seriously investigating the safety of driving in company cars.
Superintendent Mark Bird, from the Metropolitan Police's Traffic Unit said: "More and more we carry out follow-up investigations with companies after collision to ensure that work-related road safety is embedded within company policy.
"In the event of a collision or injury, police take seriously all the reasons that have led to it happening including the condition of the vehicle and why the driver was on the road, including if they were travelling for business reasons.
"Just as employees would make sure that employees are safe in the workplace, so they should while they are on the road.
"Businesses must face up top the fact that they are responsible for employees' welfare when on the road for business purposes, whether they are driving a company car or not."
Companies that required staff to drive during long working days could be held liable if they were involved in accidents, according to a report issued last week by the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport.
The report stated: " Moving management culture away from an alarming emphasis on quickness and towards an understanding of the car journey as work is a fundamental step in improving road safety for workers."
Up to 300 people are killed each year as a result of drivers falling asleep at the wheel, according to figures from the Department of Transport.
Almost 40 per cent of crashes related to tiredness involve somebody driving for work and up to one third of company vehicles are involved in some sort of collision each year.
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This will surely have quite a big impact for both road warriors and the odd trip on company business.
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Hawkeye
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When i start the car in the mornings there is smells quite strongly of exhaust fumes.

I've had the car in at the garage for the last couple of days but they can't find evidence of any leks etc. Cleaned out the Breathers? and treated the air con - but still smells. Goes away when moving but returns when sitting in traffic.

With the bonnet up there is a really strong smell in the engine bay - off side close to bottom of windscreen.

Anybody got any ideas what I can check?

It's a 2004 model 62k up

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