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Why You MUST Have a Company Vehicle Policy

Do you have a policy regarding your company vehicles? I want to share what happened at our recent meeting, regarding company vehicles.

Last Saturday, I was driving down one of our busy roads and saw one of my vehicles was going the other way.

Well, the funny part was, we weren’t working last Saturday, and our company policy states that we don’t bring the trucks back to the shop every day.

I know some people have their trucks left at the shop, the employees go to the shop, punch in, take the vehicle, and they meet their crew or their crew goes with them.

We don’t use our shop that way; our crew leaders are allowed to drive the vehicles home.

But it also states that these vehicles are for work only, and in our meeting, I brought that up, I realized who it was because I saw there was a certain vehicle this guy drives, and I said, “I am bringing this up because I saw the vehicle on Saturday”

He explained that his wife had the car, she was gone for the day, he needed something at Home Depot and he just ran down and picked it up.

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But what happens if something happens with that vehicle?

What happens if there is an accident?

Whose business is on the line for this?

It’s yours.

If that truck gets in an accident, on a quick little run to Home Depot on a Saturday afternoon, or going to church on Sunday morning, it’s going to interrupt the pay for multiple people the next day, or for multiple days until we can replace that vehicle.

And all in all, who’s going to end up paying for it?

You can say the employee has to pay for it but does the employee have the money to pay for it?

In the end, it is coming out of your pocket.

So, we like to state in our employee policy regarding company-owned vehicles that they go from point A to point B.

I realize if they have to go to the market on their way home, they might stop at the market, grab something for dinner, and I am okay with that.

But you have to remind them, especially if they are doing side jobs –these vehicles should not go to a side job.

It is better to be proactive, take a lighthearted approach, explain to them why this is such an important policy.

There is also the wear and tear, we don’t always think about it, but if employees are running around with this, it has just added wear and tear, added miles and all in all, it comes out of your pocket.

So if you explain that to them, and they don’t agree with it, maybe they are not the right one who should be driving that vehicle.

I hope this will put a little thought in your mind today, regarding company policy, on vehicles.

If you don’t have one, you should definitely put one together.

Email me, we can get you one put together

I am Ron Ramsden and you can find me at ron@dybcoach.com

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About the Author

As many of you know, my journey has been one of grit, grace, and transformation. At 19, I was a high school dropout, single father, and struggling paint contractor in Michigan. I later moved to Florida, where I faced both personal and professional hardships. With nothing left to lose, I turned to prayer—and was blessed with a relentless hunger to learn. I devoured books, attended seminars, and discovered better ways to streamline and grow my business—even through the Great Recession (and yes, I did hit the wife lottery along the way!). In 2014, I published How To Double Your Business and later sold the painting business, launching a new chapter: coaching others to grow their businesses. For the past 10 years, I’ve dedicated myself to helping business owners scale through the DYB System, while also drawing from frameworks like EOS, Scaling Up, and The Four Disciplines of Execution. Yet something was still missing—something more adaptive, integrated, and complete. Then I found Pinnacle. After months of research and interviews with other Guides, I joined Pinnacle. Their tools and strategies have exceeded every expectation. Now, as a Pinnacle Business Guide, I help leadership teams implement a custom-tailored operating system that draws from the best in the industry—but flexes with your unique business. It’s a dynamic, proven approach to achieve clarity, momentum, and lasting growth. I’m no longer taking on any more 1:1 coaching clients… Instead, I now specialize in working with visionary business owners who are ready to get their leadership teams aligned—around a clear vision, a focused strategy, and an actionable execution plan. With the tools and process I now have as a Pinnacle Business Guide, I help turn alignment into momentum, and momentum into results. If your business is growing—but your leadership team isn’t fully rowing in the same direction—let’s talk.