The number of people in Britain using hand-held mobile phones while driving has increased since the introduction of legislation banning the practise in 2006, according to a new report.
A survey by the Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) polled 12,000 car and taxi drivers and 2,500 van drivers at 33 locations across London and found that 2.8 per cent of them were talking or interacting with a hand-held mobile device.
Approximately 2.6 per cent of drivers were found guilty of the same offence in 2006, but the figure fell to 1.4 per cent in 2007 after tougher measures were introduced - a £60 fine and three penalty points – to deter motorists from using mobiles behind the wheel.
However, the latest findings from TRL showed that more people are ignoring road safety advice now than ever, with driving whilst using a mobile figures doubling in the last two years.
The report's author, Dr Nick Reed, said that phone-using drivers were four times more likely to be involved in an accident .
Commenting on the findings, AA president Edmund King, said: "I am shocked by these figures and the concern is that, generally the level of law enforcement is low."
Sarah Fatica from the road safety charity Brake added: "It is incredibly worrying that people still don't take seriously the dangers that talking on your phone while driving pose."
"The biggest problem is that your concentration is impaired, and that could result in you crashing and hurting yourself, hurting somebody else, or worst of all killing somebody."
Stephen Ladyman, the former transport minister who introduced the tougher penalties, said the current legislation might need to be modified so that Police Community Support Officers or even traffic wardens have the power to issue fines to drivers who are spotted using a hand-held mobile .
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