7-6-1 Vehicle Management

BASED ON POLICY NUMBER AND TITLE: 2-13-0 EP 5: ASSET PROTECTION

Purpose: To provide guidelines to be followed regarding the use of any Trident Technical College-owned vehicle, and to provide preventative maintenance and repair of TTC vehicles at established time and mileage intervals. Vehicles covered under this policy include cars, trucks, vans, and golf carts.

Vehicle Information: 

Vehicles owned by Trident Technical College are only to be used for official business.

TTC owned vehicles are assigned to departments for their primary, but not exclusive use. Departments with a temporary or long-term need should submit a Vehicle Request Form. 

Facilities Maintenance will maintain up-to-date and accurate information on all TTC-owned vehicles including year, make, model, vehicle identification, and license plate numbers, along with departmental vehicle assignments

Initial Inspection: The designated supervisor in Facilities Maintenance must ensure each new or used vehicle purchased is given an initial inspection, assigned a number, properly recorded in the work order system, and placed in a preventative maintenance system before turning the vehicle over to the department responsible for the assigned vehicle. All repairs identified on a used vehicle must be completed before the Facilities Maintenance supervisor turns it over to the department responsible for that vehicle.  

Preventative Maintenance: State vehicles should be inspected by the driver prior to daily operation and in accordance with agency guidelines and the laws of the state. Drivers should do a quick walk-around of the vehicle to evaluate the condition of the vehicle, and perform basic pre-operation checks such as: checking tires, lights, fuel level, and visible damage on vehicles assigned for their use before driving. Drivers are to submit work orders if the vehicle needs repair or maintenance.

Public Safety will conduct basic operator inspection of their vehicles weekly using a checklist prepared by the Facilities Maintenance mechanic, and will report any problems to the Facilities Maintenance supervisor who will schedule needed repairs or adjustments.

The Facilities Maintenance supervisor will schedule preventative maintenance at designated intervals, typically 3000 miles or 3 months, and will notify departments when it is time to bring in their vehicles for preventative maintenance inspection. The Facilities Maintenance mechanic will give each vehicle a thorough inspection, change oil and filters, and make any necessary repairs. All maintenance costs will be charged to the motor pool account.

Repairs: Any needed repairs are to be reported to Facilities Maintenance by the user of the vehicle. The mechanic will determine which repairs are needed and if they can be performed in-house or need to be outsourced to a local vendor. All vehicle repairs and preventative maintenance must be accomplished or contracted by Operations Division employees. Facilities Maintenance will keep a record of all repairs in the maintenance management system. All repair costs are charged to the motor pool account.

Mileage: Each department is responsible for keeping monthly mileage (beginning of the month  and end of month). These records are to be given to the Facilities Maintenance supervisor who will log the mileage and submit a mileage report on a Journal Voucher to the Finance Department showing each department's mileage charges. If a department uses a vehicle assigned to a different department, the using department must fill out a Trip Ticket (Form T3-48). This mileage is also submitted by the Facilities Maintenance supervisor on the monthly Journal Voucher. The Finance Department will allocate mileage to the division allocation accounts at the end of the fiscal year using the rates specified by the Comptroller General. This procedure will properly allocate the costs as required by the SBTCE Financial Reporting Guide.

Credit card charges: Each vehicle is assigned a credit card for fuel purchases only. The credit card receipts are to be turned in monthly to the Facilities Maintenance.

Keys: Facilities Maintenance will retain two (2) sets of keys for each vehicle in a lock box, and each department is issued two (2) sets of keys for each vehicle assigned to the department.

15 Passenger Van Usage:

Use of this van is for in-state travel. Out-of-state travel requires President’s approval in advance.

It is recommended the driver of the van, or one of the passengers, possess a State purchasing card that can be used for emergency vehicle repairs occurring outside the tri-county area. The cardholder must contact Facilities Maintenance’s designated personnel and the Director for Procurement for repair authorization, indicating repairs necessary, and the vendor who will be making the repairs. In the event a vehicle needs to be rented due to problems with the van that cannot be resolved quickly, the driver should contact the Vice President for Finance and Business Affairs.

Reservations for use are made through the Vice President for Academic Affairs’ designated administrative personnel. The employee who will be driving the van must submit his/her driver's license number to the Vice President of Academic Affairs so the driver's current status with the South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles can be determined.  

No more than nine passengers under the age of 18 may travel in the van at any time. No more than 14 passengers and 1 driver may travel in the van at any time.

A Trip Ticket will be issued along with keys and a gas card when the van is picked up for use. The Trip Ticket must be filled out completely, including account code, date, mileage, number of passengers, destination, and signature of the driver.

Mileage will be allocated as indicated in above.

The van must be picked up and returned to Facilities Maintenance in Building 600 during normal operational hours, 7:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. If the van needs to be picked up or returned outside of these hours, it will need to be picked up and/or returned to the Public Safety Department. Public Safety will have keys, trip ticket, and gas card for pick up.  Each of these items need to be turned in to Public Safety when returning the van.

Vehicle Rentals: When a vehicle is needed for College travel, the person requesting the vehicle must contact the rental vehicle liaison, designated by the Vice President for Finance and Business Affairs, who will make a reservation with a local vendor for vehicle use. A credit card is issued for fuel only.

Conditions of Use of TTC Owned or Leased Vehicles:

All drivers, including TTC employees, students, volunteers, or TTC contracted service providers, must possess a valid South Carolina driver’s license.

If an accident occurs on any TTC campus or site, the driver must notify Public Safety and the Facilities Maintenance supervisor as soon as possible. The Facilities Maintenance supervisor will contact the Procurement Director for insurance purposes. If the accident does not occur on a TTC campus or site, the driver must contact local law enforcement to obtain an accident report. The driver should obtain the name of the responding police officer, if the police officer does not issue a FR-10 Form. If the vehicle is not driveable, the driver should inform the Facilities Maintenance supervisor. The supervisor will call for a tow truck or give instructions on how to handle the situation.

Vehicles used by Facilities employees are to be secured in the Building 600 compound when not being used and after hours. All other vehicles are to be secured in designated areas.

Vehicles owned by the college are assigned for college use only.

When used for travel within Berkeley, Charleston, and Dorchester Counties, TTC vehicles should be picked up and returned to the campus they are assigned and not kept overnight at a private residence unless the driver has written permission from the driver's Vice President.

Smoking or vaping is NOT not allowed in TTC vehicles.

Change in Driving Privileges Status:

The Human Resources department is required to annually screen the driving record of all employees who are required to operate state vehicles as part of their job responsibilities and other job duties. Human Resources will screen these employees every six months for suspensions of driving privileges and notify the employee’s supervisor of any suspensions.  Human Resources will conduct this screening by utilizing the SCDMV Online Driver’s Record Points & Status resource. Human Resources must maintain documentation of this screening. Employees, who are required to operate a state vehicle for any reason, must immediately self-report to their supervisor any suspensions or violations affecting their driver’s license or driving privileges, and provide any documentation relating to the event. Failure to do so may result in disciplinary action, up to and including termination.

Affected Employees: All employees required to operate state vehicles (including golf carts) as part of their job responsibilities.

Authorized use for Non-State Employees: Non-State employees such as students, volunteers, contractual services personnel, vendors, or industry representatives who possess a valid driver’s license may be permitted to operate a state vehicle only if such use is official business of the state, within the insurance coverage provided on the vehicle, and is authorized by the agency head or division Vice President. All authorized operators of state vehicles shall have a valid driver’s license appropriate to the type of vehicle being operated. The driver records for non-employees are required to be screened in a manner similar to the driver record of employees.

 

Updated: 10-08-2010

Updated: 06-21-2017

Updated: 08-10-2020

Updated:  04-20-2026