That's the opinion of car leasing firm Flexed.co.uk, which says that the ban on in-car phone use is not deterring drivers.

‘While we welcome police moves to check the mobile phones of every driver involved in an incident,’ Flexed.co.uk spokesperson Mark Hall said, ‘It's not outside the realms of current technology to prevent drivers from accessing their phone functions while at the wheel.’

His comments come as new BCA research finds that 95% of motorists report seeing another driver using a hand-held mobile. Meanwhile latest DfT figures show the number of accidents where a mobile phone contributed to the cause has risen by 21% since 2010.

 

Commenting on the solutions to the problem, Flexed.co.uk said it believes that existing technology should be used to make the device useless inside a moving vehicle.

‘Sat nav apps know when you're driving. They should also be able to deactivate phone, text and internet functions,’ Hall said.

And while Flexed.co.uk said it recognises this may cause problems for passengers who have a perfect right to use their devices, it added that the scale of the problem demands drastic measures.

‘Unless you're using your device as a sat nav, there's only one place for your phone when you're driving,’ said Hall.

‘In the boot of your car, out of harm's way.’