VEHICLE TAKE HOME POLICY

Steven Cesare, Ph.D.

A business owner from Michigan called me the other day to tell me that she was just informed by one of her Field Operations Managers that two of their H2B Visa employees were incarcerated last Saturday night for a vehicle accident. Apparently, the two employees demolished the Company vehicle they were driving at 1:30 am after spending several hours of consuming alcoholic beverages, as verified by their blood alcohol content tests and an extraordinary number of open, empty alcoholic containers found in the vehicle. Thankfully, no one was severely injured in the vehicle accident.

Prudently, based on a conversation that she and I had some time back, the business owner mandated that all drivers of any company vehicle used as part of an employee’s commute to/from work, were required to sign the Vehicle Take Home Policy. The key elements of that policy are shown below.

The following pre-requisites shall apply:

Employee shall maintain an acceptable driving record and valid driver’s license at all times.
Employee shall not smoke in any Company vehicle.
Employee shall abide by all traffic laws, including not using a cellular phone for any reason (e.g., reading, writing, speaking, listening, texting) unless an appropriate hands-free device is being used.
Employee must have a secure parking area at home; some locations may be deemed unacceptable to the Company due to location, conditions, domestic risk, etc.
Employee shall lock the vehicle when parked and ensure that nothing of value is left unlocked or unattended in the vehicle; employee shall pay for any lockouts.
Employee shall keep the vehicle clean, organized, and properly maintained at all times.
Employee shall deliver the vehicle to the designated Company facility for any purpose and at any time so directed by the Company.
Employee shall deliver the vehicle to the designated Company facility prior to any extended absence.
Employee is responsible for scheduling all routine maintenance; if the vehicle comes with a service agreement it is the employee’s responsibility to have the work done on time.
Employee must report all accidents and/or vehicle damage to a Field Manager immediately.
The vehicle comes with a Company fuel credit card which must only be used for Company use.
For Irrigators only: Drive Time from your home to the first job site of the day and from the last job site of the day back to your home is unpaid.

In addition to the above-mentioned pre-requisites, the following is a partial list of infractions that will result in immediate and permanent revocation of this privilege, and may lead to termination:

Personal use of the vehicle for any reason.
Use of the vehicle on any work projects other than those of the Company.
Allowing anyone to drive the vehicle who is not listed on the Company’s approved drivers list.
Transporting non-employees (including family members) in the vehicle.
Driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, or transporting such items in the vehicle.
Modifying the vehicle’s GPS tracking device in any way.

Naturally, this policy was corroborated for administrative alignment with the company’s existing vehicle insurance provider to ensure no fine print technicalities could nullify any aspect of direct or indirect employee accountability. Moreover, in support of this policy, the Office Manager validates the company’s Approved Drivers List on the first day of each month by cross-referencing it with the list of names held by the vehicle insurance provider. Unless your state law provides clear stipulation otherwise, this policy does not allow the employer to hold the driver personally responsible for any physical damage or financial expense incurred by any such violation.

The employees in question were terminated. The remaining employees were re-trained on the company’s Vehicle Use Policy and reminded of their signed commitments to the Vehicle Take Home Policy.

While I don’t know what would make employees do that on a Saturday night, do you know why your employees would?

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