COMPANY car drivers are more likely to be involved in accidents than drivers of private cars, according to the AA report. Taking all accidents into account, it shows that the biggest problem lies with drivers of small and lower-medium company cars.

The AA's report supports long-standing claims by road safety organisations about the dangers facing company car drivers and the need for driver training. In small company cars, the report says, the accident rate is nearly 180 casualties per 10,000 cars, compared to about 110 for similar sized private cars.

For lower medium models, the figures are 130 in 10,000 for company cars and 90 in 10,000 for private cars. For medium and large cars there is little differential in risk between company and private cars. Overall, car and van drivers who cover 25,000 miles a year or more as part of their job are at the same risk of being killed at work as those in mining or quarrying, according to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents.