If you are lucky enough to have a company car as part of your job then you’ll already know that you can’t always drive it exactly as you like.

What is the company policy?

Before you drive your company car you should familiarise yourself with you company’s policy on company cars. You’ll need to take into consideration things like:

• How many miles you are allowed to drive?
• Insurance restrictions
• Where you are allowed to drive?
• What should you be using the car for?

These vary from company to company. Some might charge for extra miles travelled, others might not let you do anything other than drive the car to meetings.

Obey the Highway Code

This should be obvious but a lot of people take advantage of having a company car. Speeding, for example, not only is it illegal but you’ll also be using undue amounts of fuel. Also, if you get caught then most employers will see that as grounds for instant dismissal.
Some company cars have ‘how’s my driving’ stickers in the back or the details of the company you work for somewhere on the car. If you drive aggressively or stupidly then it’s very likely that someone will make a phone call to your boss to complain.
Be sensible, safe and use your common sense.

Report any incidents

If you do have any run-ins with other drivers, regardless of fault and damage, report it to your boss. If you try and keep anything from your employer then it’s likely to come back and bite you later.
Once you report something it can be dealt with according to company policy and the insurance company can be informed.
This also goes for windscreen chips and minor scratches.
Most insurance companies, such as Budget Direct provide specialist policies specifically for business, so if you’re in doubt of what your policy covers, it’s important to just ask.

Keep it clean

Depending on your employer, you may be in charge of keeping your company car clean. If you are then you should keep on top of regular washes. Don’t forget that you are representing your company and the brand they’ve built.
Driving up to a meeting in a company car that is filthy won’t do your image, or the company’s, much good.

Only you can drive it

Company car insurance policies generally cover anyone from the company to drive that car. On hearing that the insurance is fairly open, a lot of people will take advantage of that. The fact is though; the policy doesn’t cover anyone not employed by the company. This means that spouses, relatives and friends can’t drive your car.

Other restrictions

It might not just be company policy that restricts your driving. Make sure you familiarise yourself with the type of car insurance you have on your car.