THE majority of Britain's van drivers are highly professional and bear no resemblance to so-called 'white van man', according to a new survey. But the minority of bad drivers are ruining the image for the others.

The ninth Lex Vehicle Leasing Report on Company Motoring found that white van man, signified in the survey as a driver in an LCV without corporate branding, is more likely to be involved in road rage incidents, with more than half getting into such a situation in the last 12 months.

A third of corporate LCV drivers, those with logoed vehicles who make up about 80% of the UK van fleet, found themselves in a road rage episode.

More than a third of white van men – 36% – admit to being in an accident compared to 15% of corporate van drivers with 14% getting points on their licence, 5% more than their logoed counterparts, despite doing around two-thirds the mileage.

The report discovered that corporate drivers average 27,000 miles a year compared to white van man's 18,000, have newer vans and are more supportive of schemes to promote a more positive image and improve driving standards in the LCV industry.

The UK van fleet is relatively modern: four in 10 are less than a year old and a further four in 10 are under five years of age, with medium sized vehicles such as the short wheelbase Ford Transit making up around half of that fleet.

By comparison, nearly half of white van men drive vehicles that are more than five years old in the course of their work, and are often not 'professional' drivers, going instead from one job to another.

It would seem that 'Well Driven?' telephone numbers on vans is a measure broadly supported by corporate drivers, averaging a score of seven when asked to judge in importance from one to 10, with 10 being the top score in importance.