Over 470,000 motorists in England and Scotland were observed holding a mobile phone in their hand or to their ear while driving in 2014, according to a Transport Research Laboratory report.
 
The study aimed to give a greater understanding of who is using mobile phones while driving, for what purpose and how this could support future policy changes.

The mobile phone survey was carried out across 60 sites in England within four different areas and 40 sites in Scotland, by TRL. Teams of staff visited each site and observations were made of drivers passing the each site.
 
TRL also discovered that a higher proportion of drivers used their mobile phone while stationary (2.3%) than in moving traffic (1.6%).
 
At 2.7% the most likely group of drivers to use a mobile phone while behind the wheel are van drivers. TRL said this figure is twice the rate of car drivers, while 5.2% of 17-25 year old drivers were seen with mobile phones, making them the biggest group by age.
 
"The results are very disappointing but not at all surprising. Campaigners routinely talk about the inherent dangers of the distraction caused by mobile phone usage, but drivers never believe they will be caught," said Neil Greig, IAM director of policy and research.
 
"Campaigns run by Think and the Department for Transport need to be revived and invigorated with stronger messages for new drivers and van users. Mobile phone usage at the wheel can kill - there's no two ways about it," said Greig.