A fifth of drivers admit to making a telephone call while driving and an even higher proportion of younger motorists say they have sent a text at the wheel.
Figures from a survey by Aviva, the insurer, suggest that experienced motorists in their thirties, forties and fifties are the most likely to break the law by using their phone while driving.
Those in their late teens, who will only recently have passed their driving test, are less likely to check for calls or messages, and by far the most careful are older motorists.
This will disappoint police who are trying to make mobile-phone use at the wheel as socially unacceptable as drink-driving, and who have cracked down on the practice.
Drivers caught using a mobile in England, Scotland and Wales now face a fine of £200 — double the previous maximum — and six points on their licence. If they are taken to court, they may face a fine of up to £1,000 and a ban. Police revealed last week that 5,977 motorists were caught illegally using hand-held phones at the wheel in March.
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Aviva surveyed 1,000 British adults and found 20 per cent admitted to making a call while driving, 13 per cent said they had sent a text and 7 per cent had checked or posted on social media.
But there were big age differences: of those aged 55 or older, only 11 per cent admitted to making a call whereas in the 45 to 54 age group, the figure was 27 per cent and in the 18 to 44 bracket the figure was 26 per cent.
The worst for texting, which is potentially far more dangerous, was the 25 to 34 age group with 28 per cent having sent a message at the wheel. Again, when it came to posting on social media while driving, the worst offenders were in that age range at 14 per cent.
Adam Beckett, a director at Aviva UK, said: “It’s great to see that the vast majority of UK motorists say they aren’t using their phone while driving.
“But 20 per cent making calls behind the wheel is still 20 per cent too many, so we’re urging drivers everywhere to stick to the law and wait until they can park before picking up their phone.
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“The consequences of not paying full attention to the road can be catastrophic, so the message is clear: whether you are moving or stationary in traffic, that call or message can wait.”
Mobile phones were not the only device drivers admitted to fiddling with: 32 per cent said they had looked at a digital road atlas or a paper map to navigate and 28 per cent said they had put an address into a sat-nav.
However, it could be worse — Aviva also surveyed motorists in other countries and found Chinese, American, Indian, Canadian, French and Danish drivers were all much more likely than Britons to use a mobile at the wheel.