They drive too fast, do not pay sufficient attention to other road users and are to blame in more fatal crashes than others using the roads to make their living.
Those who rage against company car drivers will find their prejudices confirmed by a study funded by the government into work-related road accidents.
The culprits are usually men in their early to mid-30s, says a report published yesterday by researchers at Nottingham University's school of psychology.
Looking at factors behind accidents where the drivers were at fault, they say: "Company car drivers had more of their accidents on slippery roads, or while under the influence of alcohol, or while speeding, than would be predicted by chance when compared with drivers of other vehicles used for work purposes.
"Over half the accidents on slippery roads also involved excessive speed, so there appeared to be a huge overlap in these two groups."
Company car drivers are the only group, except those driving emergency vehicles, where excessive speed is a significant causal factor.
Motorists who blanch at the sight of a lorry or heavy goods vehicle looming too large in their mirrors will also find backing for their fears.
Lorry drivers were more often to blame for accidents generally than company car drivers, but were less to blame in cases where someone died.
Following other vehicles too closely, poor road observation, load problems and vehicle defects all contribute to accidents, says the academics' report, published by the Department of Transport.
Van and pick-up drivers are also more often to blame than not, according to the academics, who studied 2,111 accidents, 1,009 of them in detail, from Midlands police forces over eight years.
Van drivers have significantly more accidents where they fail to take account of a restricted view caused by heavy or queueing traffic. These tend to involve running into the back of a vehicle where they have failed to notice it is slowing or indicating to turn, or hitting it when trying to overtake it.
More reassuringly, bus, taxi and minicab drivers, and those behind the wheels of emergency vehicles, are more sinned against than sinning when it comes to who is responsible for accidents.
However, the speed at which fire engines, police cars or ambulances are travelling means that when they are at fault, a fatality is more likely. The authors of the study puncture any complacency there might be among those who use their cars for pleasure or the school run. Most "errors and violations did not appear more markedly different from those of the general driving population; they have merely had more opportunities for committing them", the report said.
Solutions may include driver training - particularly over controlling speeds, maintaining safe following distances and avoiding distractions.
