An anonymous poll of drivers carried out on behalf of British car leasing firm Flexed.co.uk found:

• 60% of all road users would answer the phone or send a text in traffic
• 45% of car drivers have used their phones illegally
• 78% of van drivers have used their phones illegally
• 31% of lorry drivers have used their phones illegally
• 2% of public service drivers admitted to using phones when driving
• 18% had a road-legal hands-free kit, which they used regularly

The major reason given is the falling number of convictions and fixed penalty notices (FPNs), giving drivers the impression that they're more likely not to get caught. In fact, of over 400 drivers interviewed, only two knew of somebody who had received an FPN for using a phone at the wheel.

‘Despite frequent news stories of accidents, injuries and deaths caused by people using their phone while driving, people still don't get the message,’ said Flexed.co.uk’s Johnny Ratcliffe.

‘In fact, it's the complete opposite. Convictions and FPNs for phone use are at half the level they were in 2006, and even then they weren't terribly high.’

More worrying is the rise of motorists who use their devices to surf the internet while on the road.

‘Nearly than 10% said they're on the net while behind the wheel,’ said Ratcliffe. ‘In most cases, it's searching for information on their destination, but there are some – and I won't be kind here – thickheads who can't help posting on Facebook when their eyes ought to be on the road.’

Department of Transport figures attribute 17 deaths and 548 injuries to the use of mobile phones at the wheel in 2012, although the toll is almost certainly much higher. Between 2010 and 2012, more than 9,000 accidents were blamed on distractions such as phones, sat navs and car radios.

Ratcliffe added that the only way for some people to avoid the temptation – and the danger – of using their phone on the road is to remove it entirely from the equation.

‘Switch it off. Put it out of reach. Lock it in the boot,’ he commented. ‘Motorists managed without phones for decades before the mobile came along. It's not that difficult.’