CHARLESTON, W.Va. – The 7,500-vehicle state vehicle fleet could have some new guidelines after this legislative session concludes. Mike Jones, manager in the West Virginia Legislative Auditor’s Office, said they have completed their study and made recommendations for a possible code change.
The recommendation said managing the vehicles should be done at the state level, with the addition of monitoring systems in all vehicles operated by state agencies.
The audit found that even though state employees with vehicles are required to log trips, including distance, destination, and purpose, many entries were incomplete or inaccurate. The problems and inconsistencies make the data that could be valuable unusable.
“Our recommendation was that the Fleet Management Division be given oversight authority over the vehicle fleet instead of the individual spending units and that the legislature amend West Virginia code to require the inclusion of telematics systems in all state vehicles,” Jones said.
The Telematic system monitors telemetry like speed, location, idling time, and fuel consumption, but Jones said that system is not installed on all state vehicles. Having that additional data to analyze could identify needs or unmet needs that could be addressed.
“If they (the Fleet Management Division) would be able to extend that program out to the entire fleet, that would resolve many of the data issues,” Jones said. “And potentially end up with a situation where you could right-size the fleet and reduce costs.”
The Telematic data that Jones and his staff did review showed instances of equipment abuse. Jones said if operators knew their use and driving style were being tracked in real-time, it could encourage safer usage.
“There are a lot of instances of safety concerns as far as seatbelt violations, speeding, hard acceleration, braking, and those types of things,” Jones said.
All state agencies have different missions and different vehicles to complete those tasks. The departments within state government view an employer-provided vehicle as more of a perk than a tool.
“But, when you have some entities that may view the vehicle as a salary benefit versus a state asset, it could become a more lax environment with spending units than others,” Jones said.
Next, Jones said, they will present their data and recommendations for lawmakers to take the next step.
“We make our recommendations to the Post Audit Subcommittee,” Jones said. “Within that committee, Senate President Craig Blair requested that legislation be drafted to address the recommendations in our report.”