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With the Government pondering whether to make careless driving a fixed penalty offence, here's a slightly scary fact:
More than half of motorists who have been convicted of careless driving thought they were driving perfectly normally at the time.
Moreover, 75% said they had been 'surprised' at being pulled over.
Among other things, that implies that a quarter of these individuals knew they were driving badly but did not think the police would bother about it.
Those figures come from a Government consultation paper published in mid-June.
Careless and inconsiderate driving (which include passing red lights, failing to look properly before manoeuvring and tailgating) are in the official cross hairs because, while deaths on the road have fallen dramatically in the last few years, minor accidents and injuries haven't.
And while Average Joe's driving remains, well, pretty average, the records show that convictions for careless driving are way down - they fell by more than half (to 90,000 a year) between 1997 and 2007.
Considering how many of those drivers apparently didn't even know they were driving badly, you have to ask whether the fall was due to more-careful driving or because the police were understandably reluctant to add to their mounting burden of paperwork by booking offenders.
At the moment the police only have two options if they catch someone driving carelessly. They can let them off with a warning, or take them to court.
Going to court costs the state time and money - an average of three hours of police time just to prepare the court filing - so there's a real incentive to prosecute only the worst cases.
By comparison, the consultation paper reckons that police will be able to hand out six fixed penalty notices (FPNs) in the time it takes to process one court filing.
That makes presenting a FPN of £90 and three penalty points look like a good option for the police.
It doesn't look so bad for the driver, either, since careless driving offenders currently face up to £5,000 in fines and costs, 11 penalty points and a year's ban if they are convicted in court.
There will also be an option for drivers to avoid penalty points if they go on a remedial driving course at their own expense, although this offer will be at the police's discretion.
It's hard to believe that switching to fixed penalties would not lead to more drivers being pulled over and fined for bad driving.
Cynics might believe that this was the whole point of the proposal, although the official line is that it will not make much difference to the number of prosecutions and the main benefit to the Government will be a £10 million-a-year saving in court costs.
The DfT has not said anything about using CCTV evidence but the type of enforcement camera already widely used by councils to catch parking offenders could just as easily be used to track down drivers who, say, hog the overtaking lane or flash at people to get out of their way - both of which count as inconsiderate driving and would earn a £90 FPN.
As both fleets and vehicle lease/rental companies know to their cost, mixing fixed penalties with enforcement cameras inevitably results in yet more extra administrative hassle and expense as automated FPNs go flying out to registered keepers.
If the Government has any ideas of that nature for careless driving, I'm sure the BVRLA will be quick to respond.
Alongside the careless driving proposal, the Government is also thinking of increasing the fixed penalty for other driving offences, such as using a mobile phone, from £60 to £90 and for non-endorsement FPNs from £30 to £45.
Assuming these measures go ahead, they will add up to a significantly higher toll on the wallets and licences of careless drivers in future.
Of course, the answer to that from a motorist's point of view is to drive carefully and considerately: a point that fleets would be well advised to emphasise to their drivers as the Government extends its 'fixed penalty fix' to more motoring offences.
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