The firm’s survey of 2,000 UK employees that drive as part of their job also found that a fifth of respondents (19%) have had an accident whilst driving for work. When asked who would be liable for such an accident, 80% said it would be their responsibility, while 20% thought an accident would be their employer’s.

The research also found that 70% are not receiving any training to ensure they drive safely and efficiently.

Martin Hiscox, CEO and chairman of Masternaut, commented: ‘Driving for work is recognised as one of the most dangerous occupations and these findings clearly demonstrate a vital need for employers to educate staff on safe driving practises. There is a clear need for this to happen and the technology, the tool-kits for training, monitoring and improving driver behaviour all exist. The insurance industry is spending £2.2bn in claims annually, processing over 792,000 claims for commercial fleet insurance. This is the tip of the iceberg when you consider on-costs, downtime and the cost to businesses that self-insure.

‘It raises a bigger issue for employers about not having visibility of their mobile workforce, so they can ensure they are safe and can put steps in place to spot problems and deal with them. The Telematics industry is making huge steps to help the commercial fleet but even now we are surprised that so few employers are offering their staff the chance to take driver training, to ensure they’re kept safe whilst on the road and helping them be safer and more efficient.’