Global pharmaceutical company Pfizer, which has 2,200 company car drivers, is currently grappling with the introduction of the smoking ban in England.
Lynne Bundle, fleet and mobile phone manager, explains: "We have sent out some guidelines but there are still some grey areas in that [we] have 635 opt-out drivers [who take a cash allowance instead of a car] and we are not quite sure what to do with them. Are they predominantly business drivers or are they predominately private? That is [something] we need to establish."
The company has already sent out temporary no-smoking stickers as required under the legislation. "We are having some complaints about the stickers. It has been raised by a driver that [these] may flag company cars as opposed to private cars and, therefore, there is a possibility that it may increase theft. I don't know how real that [issue] is going to be."
But she adds that while it is vital that drivers comply with the regulations in order to avoid fines, there is only so much the organisation can do in terms of policing. "We can issue guidelines but we can't sit with every driver," says Bundle.
