The survey by IAM Drive & Survive found that drivers of company vehicles are 25% more likely to have minor accident than grey fleet drivers, according to the firm’s Springboard UK research.

In addition, 17% admitted they were more likely to speed when driving for work, compared to 11% of people when driving for leisure purposes. Of the respondents only 31% said they didn’t speed at all. The survey also found that driving in a fuel-efficient manner was more of a consideration in private vehicles, 73%, compared to a work or company vehicle at 60%.

The survey also studied attitudes to vehicle maintenance in both company-owned and private vehicles. While between 54 and 61% of those surveyed regularly check essentials such as tyre pressures, windscreens and fluid levels when driving a personal vehicle, those same checks dropped to between 20 and 26% for those driving company vehicles.

Those who admitted to rarely or never checking their vehicle gave a variety of reasons for the lack of regular checks. These included a reliance on the vehicles’ warning systems to alert them to problems, waiting for annual servicing to highlight issues, or that in some cases it just never occurred to them to check.

IAM Drive & Survive’s chief executive Simon Best, said: ‘Our findings have highlighted a serious disconnect between the driver and their level of responsibility for the vehicle they drive. It seems that not owning the vehicle reduces the driver’s desire to use it in the safest and most fuel-efficient manner, as well as distancing them from the responsibility of checking their vehicle is road worthy.

‘The benefits of car ownership aren’t purely financial. People are a company’s biggest asset, and providing them with the necessary skills to be safe on the road is essential.’

IAM Drive & Survive is launching the #IAMproud campaign to encourage drivers to take pride in the vehicles they use and is calling on company car drivers to get involved.