You're driving along the motorway. On the passenger seat your iPhone buzzes and you see a text message popup on screen. Do you pick it up?

According to new research, one in three drivers do just that, and the findings are causing concern among road safety experts.

Steve Horton, road safety team leader at Kent County Council, said: "Using a mobile phone whilst driving impairs reaction time, reduces concentration levels, leads to poorer judgment of speed and distance and reduces your field of vision.

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"It's a fallacy to believe we can concentrate on two things at once. The reality is one activity will dominate the other.

"It's not simply splitting your attention 50:50, it's more like 95:5 with the task seeming the most important taking over - with drivers using a phone that means the call, text, situation update completely takes over from the driving."

The research was carried out by Kent County Council's Road Safety Team, which surveyed a sample of 330 people.

Video: 1 in 3 drivers are still using mobile phones behind the wheel

But despite the small size of the survey, it highlighted several concerning trends.

According to the research, in the past six months 33% of drivers under 35, which represents 21% of all drivers, said they had used their phone to text or use apps while driving.

The figure rises to 36% of 17-24 year olds.

“Using a phone at the wheel is just as socially unacceptable as drink driving" - Kent Police spokesman Martin Stevens

An even higher proportion of under 35s, who represent 27% of all drivers, said they had taken a hand-held call, with 37% of those questioned admitting the offence.

Kent Police said forensic techniques make it possible to discover exactly when and how a phone was being used, in cases where distraction may have caused an accident.

Kent Police spokesman Martin Stevens said:“Using a phone at the wheel is just as socially unacceptable as drink driving and both offences cost lives. Life lost on the road is a life wasted and a family devastated.

"So next time you are behind the wheel and get a mention, a favourite, a like or a direct message, ask yourself if you are literally dying to read it?"

In response Kent Police is planning a crackdown on drivers who use mobile phone, as well as those who drink or take drugs, throughout June.

This will coincide with a campaign by KCC.

Mr Horton said: "Our research gives strong backing to the continuing need to raise drivers' awareness of the increased risk they place themselves in when using a mobile phone 'at the wheel' and to remind them that Kent Police are actively looking for them.

"We've found that a large number of drivers say they know using a mobile at the wheel is dangerous and unacceptable, yet many continue to do so.

"This campaign brings together the education message with an increased likelihood of being caught - key motivators to changing this behaviour."

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