Company car drivers should be trained to a higher standard of driving, new study finds.

The UK’s businesses are being urged to improve the driving standards of their staff after a surge of accidents involving company cars.

New figures released show that nearly half of all crashes involving company cars in 2013 were the fault of the fleet car drivers.

Released by Lex Autolease, the figures show that the company driver was at fault in 49% of over 44,000 accidents, costing their employers over £26 million in surplus insurance premiums last year alone.

One in 10 of accidents involving company cars were shown to be collisions with static objects, such as bridges or walls whilst more than 3,000 company vehicle accidents involved driving into the back of another vehicle and over 2,000 reversed into other cars.

The UK’s biggest fleet vehicle provider, Lex Autolease are using the figures to urge companies to make sure that their staff drive to a higher standard, highlighting the need to increase road safety as well as the benefits to businesses, such as cheaper car insurance.