Characteristics of the grey fleet in British Columbia

Background: Data from around the world would suggest that attention to safety during work-related driving should be a priority as traffic accidents are the leading cause of work-related injury, death and absence from work in many countries. Purpose: This study examines the characteristics of the grey fleet (those who drive personal vehicles for the purposes of work), and the road safety programs that are presently in place in British Columbia. Method: A ‘Grey Fleet Employer Survey’ was distributed via email to a random sample of 15% of all employers in British Columbia Of 5023 emails delivered successfully 531 respondents were captured in the data (10.6% response), of which 104 declined participation leaving 427 who completed surveys (8.4% response rate). Results: Of those companies responding 64.4% of them reported having a grey fleet with 36.6% of employees from small companies (4-19 employees), 21.0% of the employees from medium (20-99 employees) and 12.2% of employees from large (100+ employees) companies driving personal vehicles for work-related purposes. Of those employers reporting a grey fleet 75.2% checked to make sure employees who drove had a valid drivers’ licence, typically at the time of hire (70.5), with 39% checking on an annual basis. Few companies (17.8%) required employees to inspect their own vehicles before starting each trip. The majority of employers (74.6%) believed it was the employee’s responsibility to inspect their own private vehicles, and this was true across small (73.6%), medium (73.6%) and large (77.8%) employers. Conclusion: Employers who use grey fleets are not certain of their legal requirements under Worker’s Compensation Act (duty of care), and education and training is required concerning the employer and employee responsibilities concerning driving safety.