I assume the company pays for your vechicle, insurance, and fuel to drive to and from your home, that is a lot of $$ everyday. For employees that work in the office/at the shop they do not have that expense paid for and I know of many that live quite a distance from their workplace. If you do not like "not charging" your employer for the first 1/2 hour that you are driving their vehicle, using their fuel, and assuming risk under their insurance; then you can try my idea of parking at the shop and driving to and from work everyday. Or another idea would be to move closer to work, I work in an office and I drive well over 1 hour everyday to and from work at my expense, this is a choice I have made to live where I live and I do not complain or charge my employer for my drive time.

Another possible idea would be that you prorate the cost of the vehicle, insurance, and fuel that are used during the first 1/2 hour and reimburse your employer for that amount everyday.

Companies that provide employees with vehicles and allow them to drive it to and from work incur a lot of expense to do so. If you want to make it black and white and get rid of this gray area, then engineers can drive their personal vehicle to and from the shop, or a designated worksite everyday and eliminate this gray area.

My ideas are not THE solution, just possible solutions to the dilema that has been posted. I believe that if any employee is that unhappy at their current workplace over time billed to their employer then they should find an employer that makes them happy. Ultimately that is what we all want, to work happy, and play happy.