9.63 Motor Vehicle Usage Policy

The University maintains a fleet of vehicles to support departmental missions and travel needs. They are available to faculty and staff under short or long-term rental agreement with departmental approval.

Transportation Services is charged with the responsibility of providing safe and economical transportation. The vehicles represent our institution and we remind departments that our vehicle operators should be mindful that they too represent the institution.

1. Vehicle Management
   The Fleet Manager maintains detailed records on all vehicles and makes recommendations on all vehicle purchases to the appropriate division head. Information on all licensed vehicles is reported annually to the Board of Regents. Vehicle data is maintained for inventory, insurance and usage purposes.

   Transportation Services is responsible for determining which vehicles are safe and available for use, which vehicles require maintenance and which vehicles should be retained or retired from service. Transportation Services schedules and/or performs all maintenance work for university-owned vehicles. If off-campus repair work is necessary, it is requested and arranged by Transportation Services. If a university department has received approval for a lease agreement with an outside vendor, Transportation Services should be consulted with regard to any preventative maintenance work required as part of the lease agreement.

2. Official Use
   University vehicles are for official business only and are to be used by authorized faculty and staff. All drivers must have a valid and current operator’s license. Verification is the responsibility of the sponsoring department. Transportation Services staff will verify that the individual picking up a daily reservation has a valid operator’s license. University vehicles are not to be used for personal errands, nor shall they transport other than authorized passengers and equipment. Non-employee passengers may be transported only when their presence relates to the primary purpose of the trip.

   Commuting from home to on-campus office and vice-versa may be considered personal use under IRS guidelines. In situations where a faculty or staff member is assigned a university vehicle, uses that vehicle to commute daily or occasionally, and the commuting is personal use under IRS guidelines, the use must be reported to Payroll as a fringe benefit. Staff and departments should maintain a mileage log Weekly Mileage Log to document these commutes; each month, faculty and staff should sign and forward the mileage log form to their department head for approval; and departments should approve and forward the form to Payroll. Any personal use of a university vehicle must be reported to Payroll with documentation on a mileage log form.

   University vehicles are generally not to be driven by students unless accompanied by an authorized faculty or staff member (see section 5).

   A university vehicle may be driven to a private residence and parked overnight under certain circumstances (e.g. if the driver is to depart early in the morning). The vehicle must be parked off the street and secured. Arrangements to this effect must be made with Transportation Services as part of the reservation with Motor Pool. Vehicles leased annually and assigned to specific individuals must also be parked off the street and secured. 

3. Vehicle Availability

   Daily Reservation

   Departments may reserve vehicles from Motor Pool for daily, weekly, or monthly trips, by using the Vehicle Reservation Form or by calling 3-2610. Carpool Rates can be viewed. While vehicles are limited in number and are assigned on a first-come, first-serve basis, Motor Pool does negotiate agreements with local vendors to handle overflow reservations and can generally accommodate all requests. An approved Absence Request form authorizing the use and expense should be completed in conjunction with every daily reservation request. Transportation Services is responsible for vehicle assignment(s).

   Lease

   Vehicles may be leased to a department on an annual basis. Leases for the academic year (10 month), summer or other options may be arranged at the discretion of the Fleet Manager.

   Typically vehicles with 80,000-100,000 miles are retired from the daily rental fleet but available for annual lease and local travel (Cedar Valley). Lease arrangements are subject to vehicle availability and division head approval. Lease cost is billed monthly and includes maintenance costs and liability insurance.

   Under rare circumstances, departments may find it necessary to lease a vehicle from a local vendor. The department initiating the lease is responsible for notifying Transportation Services when a vendor lease is initiated. Transportation Services, the University Risk Manager, University Attorney and the Controller’s office, will review the lease prior to signature and the department will be responsible for lease costs and any damages not specifically covered under the lease agreement with the vendor. After a vendor lease is approved, it is the department’s responsibility to notify Transportation Services when the vendor lease is terminated.

   Purchase

   A department may purchase a new vehicle if approved by the division head and within the Board of Regents imposed limitations. Departments should contact the Fleet Manager and Transportation Services who are able to assist in purchasing vehicles under state contracts in conjunction with the Iowa Department of Administrative Services and the Department of Transportation. Vehicles may be purchased under the bid specifications developed by Transportation Services, those of the agencies mentioned, or those developed by other Regents institutions. These bid specifications have been developed under, and the bid process conforms to University and State of Iowa purchasing guidelines. If a department elects to purchase a new vehicle outside the state contract(s), the department is responsible for performing the life cycle cost analysis for weighing various bid options, per the State of Iowa code. Transportation Services can assist by providing current fuel efficiency information and projected fuel cost data. A copy of the departmental life cycle cost analysis must be furnished to Transportation Services and Purchasing. In all cases, Transportation Services will assist with title, insurance and state license plates. The department making the vehicle purchase is thereafter responsible for all maintenance and expenses.

   Privately Owned Vehicle

   Faculty and staff authorized to travel on University business may choose to use their personal vehicle. A person driving his or her personal automobile on University business does so at his or her own risk and is personally responsible for all costs of operation, including repairs to the automobile, and for public liability and property damage. Reimbursement for the use of a personal vehicle is authorized at the current rate approved by the Board of Regents and the University (see Mileage Reimbursement Rates in the Travel Guidelines).

   Individuals traveling more than 12,000 miles annually in their personal vehicle may be required to use the University Motor Pool.

4. Insurance Coverage

   1. University Vehicles

      UNI participates with other Iowa Board of Regents, State of Iowa institutions in the Iowa Regents Motor Vehicle Self-Insurance Program for liability on motor vehicles. The program responds to liability claims for property damage or bodily injury arising from an accident involving University vehicles where the University driver was more than 50% negligent. The Iowa Regents Motor Vehicle Self-Insurance Program includes coverage for comprehensive and collision damage to University vehicles, subject to a $500 deductible per loss. Any deductible will be assessed to the department. For Motor Pool vehicles where the University driver was grossly negligent, the department authorizing the travel will be assessed the $500 deductible. Each Regent’s institution is assessed a premium per rated vehicle per month.

   2. Excess Liability (Non-Owned, Borrowed, Personal Vehicles)

      For non-owned (including rentals, personal, or borrowed) vehicles, the Iowa Regents Motor Vehicle Self-Insurance Program will apply only as excess liability coverage. The University's travel reimbursement program includes a provision for insurance expenses in the mileage rate calculation for personal vehicle use. In an accident, the non-owned vehicle owner must look to their own automobile insurance coverage as the primary insurance. For rentals, if no liability insurance is provided with the vehicle, the minimum amount of liability insurance should be purchased.

      The University's excess liability coverage will apply when the driver was an authorized University employee on University business at the time of the loss, and the vehicle owner's policy has been exhausted. The University will not reimburse an employee, or other private owner, or their insurer for any deductible or liability claim paid by their auto insurance policy or for any damage to the vehicle.

   3. Field Trips/Student Travel

      Staff members using their own automobiles to transport students on field trips, inspection trips, etc., are required to carry auto insurance of at least the minimum required by the State of Iowa. In general, it is not necessary that students purchase travel insurance for university-sponsored events. However, any unusual or unique aspects of a program should be discussed with the University’s Risk Manager to determine if any special arrangements are necessary or may be beneficial.

   4. Reporting Losses

      University drivers are required to report any accident or incident of damage related to the use or operation of University vehicles within 48 hours. A personal injury accident should be reported immediately. Accidents involving University vehicles should be reported to Transportation Services. "Hit and run" and vandalism incidents are criminal incidents and should be reported within 24 hours to the Department of Public Safety or police, if off campus.

   The driver must complete a Regents Vehicle Accident Report form and attach a copy of the police report and completed State Report if one is required. A State Report is required when the total damage to the vehicles is $1,000 or more, or a personal injury is involved. Completed reports should be forwarded to Transportation Services. Copies of the reports are available in the glove compartment of Motor Pool vehicles or copies can be obtained from Transportation Services or UNI Public Safety.

   Claims are processed through the University’s Risk Manager pursuant to the Iowa tort Claims Act, Chapter 669 of the Code of Iowa. All Regents institutions vehicle accidents are investigated and adjusted through the State Accident Advisor/Risk Manager, State of Iowa Department of Administrative Services.

5. Student and Non-Employee Drivers

   It is the University’s desire to limit the exposure of both the student and non-employee to injury and the University to liability where University vehicles are in use. Vehicles owned by the University are for official business only and are for use by authorized faculty and staff. Only under special circumstances is a student or non-employee authorized to drive a University vehicle.

   All students or non-employees who may be allowed to drive University vehicles must possess a valid and current operator’s license. The department authorizing the use and/or travel is responsible for verifying the possession of a current operator’s license.

   1. Student employees

      For the purposes of this policy, students on the University payroll are classified as casual hourly employees. Driving should be limited to situations where it is a required duty of their position.

   2. Class or Team Trips

      A student or non-employee may drive a University vehicle if an authorized faculty or staff member is in the vehicle. This is primarily intended to prevent driver fatigue on long trips. It is recommended that drivers rotate every two hours. It is sometimes necessary due to logistics and the limited number of faculty and staff, that a student or passenger be allowed to drive unaccompanied. The frequency and duration of such trips will be held to a minimum.

   3. Athletics is developing guidelines for team travel.

      Students or Non-Employees Involved in Special Programs Benefiting the University

      As a general rule, University vehicles are not assigned to students or non-employees. A program that involves students or non-employees who are performing a specific assignment (e.g. recruitment of prospective students, student government responsibilities, tour guides) may be authorized to drive by the department requesting and reserving the vehicle.

6. 15-Passenger Vans

   The National Transportation Safety Board has advised of an increased rollover risk for 15-passenger vans as a vehicle class. Transportation Services has taken the following measures to further protect University faculty, staff and students.

   Motor Pool requires that the driver of University 15-passenger (15P) vans possess a valid commercial driver’s license (CDL). If a driver does not possess a CDL, Motor Pool has a limited number of 15P vans where the rear seat has been removed. This limits the number of passengers to 10 not counting the driver and the space vacated by the rear seat is not to be filled with additional luggage.

   Motor Pool further encourages the use of two 7-passenger vans rather than a 15P van especially where the van driver does not possess a CDL. The additional cost is negligible in consideration of the increased vehicle stability under all types of weather conditions.

7. Driving Privileges

   The University has a vital interest in the safe driving of its employees. It is in the best interest of employees and the University to take corrective action whenever it appears that a problem may exist with an individual driver or group of drivers using University vehicles. On the basis of a record of past abuse, Transportation Services has the right to refuse issuance of a vehicle to any individual.

   The Fleet Manager may also determine that inclement weather conditions make travel inadvisable and unsafe. Under such conditions, the Fleet Manager may cancel Motor Pool reservations with little notice, and authorizing departments will not be billed for the cancelled reservation. Faculty and staff must use their discretion regarding use of their personal vehicle in these instances, under the guidelines noted earlier [see 3D and 4C].