Abstract
This paper explores the safety implications of the use of company cars. It focuses on a case study in Israel that shows a massive growth in the extent of company-car use in recent years. The methodology consisted of two main elements: the first was a market review regarding the situation in Israel, the second was a questionnaire-based survey distributed to 400 drivers who had a company car and to a control group of 230 drivers who did not have a company car and drove their own vehicles. The results clearly indicate that company cars have a significant negative impact on both travel behavior and safety. First, company-car arrangements result in significant extra mileages which lead to an excessive level of exposure. In addition, company cars are installed with fewer safety features than privately owned cars, and drivers of company cars tend to exhibit fewer safe-driving characteristics. The consequence of such practice is that company-car drivers were also found to be more involved in road crashes than were drivers who did not have a company car. The consequences suggest that decision-makers may need to re-examine company car arrangements in order to control the excessive exposure and to require that company cars come with a core of sufficient safety features.
Highlights
A ‘company car’ or ‘employer-provided car’ is a passenger car that the employer provides to the employee
In Israel, estimates of these elements even surpass the EU figures: 54 % of the new cars purchased in 2008 were company cars, and their share was approximately 13 % of the total passenger car fleet [29]
While most OECD countries levy a tax of about 40 % on car purchases, the tax for purchasing a private car in Israel in 2008 was 84 %, and this rate was the lowest ever [8,25]
Summary
A ‘company car’ or ‘employer-provided car’ is a passenger car that the employer provides to the employee. The employee may use this car for commuting to work, for all workrelated trips, as well as for his or her own private use at any time. Members of the employee’s family are allowed use of this car. This general arrangement predominates in Israel, but it may well vary in other countries. Data from 2002 shows that a significant share of all new passenger cars sold in Europe were registered as company cars; e.g., 7.5 % in Ireland, 42 % in Germany, 45 % in the Netherlands and 50 % in Sweden [5,18]. In Israel, estimates of these elements even surpass the EU figures: 54 % of the new cars purchased in 2008 were company cars, and their share was approximately 13 % of the total passenger car fleet [29]
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