PRESSURE on fleet managers to show their value to their employers has reached boiling point after a damning new survey revealed two thirds of fleets are doing nothing to prepare for CO2-based company car tax.

The shocking new research suggests just 10% of all fleets have so far incorporated 2002 tax changes into fleet policy, while a further third are just getting started.

The latest survey was carried out by vehicle leasing and fleet management specialist Godfrey Davis Contract Hire with 350 private and public sector fleets. It also found that only 14% of firms offer driver training, although 83% of fleets of more than 500 vehicles do so. Figures suggested that accident rates among the fleets had rocketed from 14.7% to 30.1%, although a spokesman for the contract hire firm said more research was needed to prove the figure.

The survey also found that fleet managers are experiencing difficulty in assimilating the necessary information and presenting this to drivers in an understandable manner.

Other findings in the survey included 67% of 100-plus vehicle fleets using contract hire as their main form of finance and 36% of companies offering a cash alternative, with average take-up at 5%.

For further information call GDCH on 0208-420 5644.