For the first time, fleets may soon have accurate data on how many road crashes involve at-work drivers.

A new handheld computer should soon allow the police to record accurate road accident data, according to the National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA).

Until accurate figures of how many crashes involve at-work drivers it is hard for road safety organisations and fleets to properly address the problem.

Currently, police record a road traffic accident on a lengthy form that is passed on to the Department for Transport (DfT), which uses the data to improve road safety.

However, existing methods, which have been labelled as “flawed” by the House of Commons Transport Committee, take too long to reach the DfT and are not as accurate as they could be, according to the NPIA.

It’s a point echoed by the fleet industry and road safety experts, who have consistently questioned the accuracy of how ‘purpose of journey’ information is recorded.

Saul Jeavons, director at road safety consultancy The Transafe Network, claims officers do not appreciate how the information they record is used by other agencies.

“There has always been a problem with police officers understanding what that data will be used for,” said Mr Jeavons.

“Any new system will need to be backed up with the appropriate training.

"Companies need to know the scale of the problem.”

Existing figures estimate that between 800 and 1,000 people are killed, and 90,000 to 118,000 are seriously injured, in work-related road collisions each year in the UK.

Mr Jeavons added: “Accurate information is crucial to the fleet industry and would allow it to take a more proactive approach.”

A spokesman for the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) said officers were aware of the need for “accurate and timely” data and defended how it currently gathers information at the scene of an accident.

“Data collected by an investigating officer following a road traffic accident is based on the evidence they are presented with at the scene,” added the ACPO spokesman.

“This evidence can include statements from people involved, as well as the opinion of the investigating officer.”

In an effort to establish accurate information, police and hospital data was linked for the first time in 2008, while the Stats19 system which is used to record accident statistics is under review.

The new device, called Crash, aims to make road traffic accident data available at a much earlier stage, as well as improve accuracy, because officers will input information into a central system using a handheld computer at the accident scene, according to the NPIA.

But, it would not be drawn on whether Crash would address questions surrounding the accuracy of work-related traffic accidents.

It anticipates it will be tested by trial forces in 2010 and will be available to all forces by the end of that year.