Company car owners driven mad by congestion

Twenty per cent of company car drivers spend more than 11 days a year sitting in congestion according to a new survey from the RAC Foundation and www.companycardriver.co.uk released this week..

Most drivers waste between one or two hours per week stuck in congestion. Almost one third of the drivers are making a New Year resolution to spend less time travelling for work in 2007.

Three in ten company car drivers’ concern for the environment already makes them drive less. Forty per cent of company car drivers would welcome greater encouragement of home working and 25% would like to see more flexible working hours to help them avoid congestion.

However, over 50% of companies are ’not at all’ supportive of drivers taking up flexible working practices such as working from home, online working or using public transport. Out of all the environmental and time saving initiatives available to businesses, online working, followed by low car emission purchasing and home working were the most likely to be adopted by a company.

The survey also revealed that 10% of company car drivers admitted to have previously fallen asleep at the wheel. Falling asleep at the wheel is the cause of around 20% of accidents on long journeys on trunk roads and motorways and the greatest risk of falling asleep at the wheel is between midnight and 6am.

The RAC Foundation urges companies responsible for fleets to ensure that their drivers do not put themselves at increased risk by driving long hours or skimping on important rest breaks.