Ok guys, it's a long time since I left and the contract out of the "white" fleet had happened prior to my leaving. Now the original contractor operator had a fleet of vehicles that exceeded fifty thousand in number. Their business model was/is heavily dependant on maintaining the resale value of the vehicles when they are returned at the point specified, that point may be age or use related, it was very clear from the start that the vehicles would be subjected to a rigorous examination upon return, a cracked wheel trim on an Astra, for example, resulted in a bill for £70 (1997 price), the price of a complete set.
Now can anyone tell me if this "spy in the cab" was installed at the instigation of the RAF, or was it at the instigation of the contractor? Of course the contractor may have made a case on safety grounds to the service, who then funded the system out of public funds, the contractor gets his vehicle usage closely monitored and the customer has funded it for him.
It would be illuminating (for me anyway) to see a breakdown of the end of contract damage costs over the years.
PM