The Local Authority Road Safety Officers' Association claims that drivers are largely ignoring tough new penalties for using a mobile phone while driving.

Penalties for talking on a non-hands-free mobile phone were increased in January from £30 to £60 with an additional three penalty points.

While every member of the Association thought this was a good idea, three quarters said it was ineffective.

Malcolm Burns, chairmen of the Association, said: "The message here is that the tougher penalties are clearly not having the intended effect. Our members are continuing to see people flaunting the law by using mobile phones while driving.

"Using a hand-held phone behind the wheel means that you are not concentrating 100 per cent on driving and that is putting your own life at risk and the lives of other road users.

"Even using a phone with a hands-free kit means you are not paying full attention and we urge drivers to take advantage of voicemail systems and switch their phone off before starting any journey."

Around 85 per cent of the Association's members thought that mobile phones were the most dangerous distraction for drivers, worse than smoking or listening to music. Over 90 per cent called for the police to be much tougher in enforcing the law.

David Frost, press and PR spokesman for the Association, said: "At the moment a significant number of drivers are choosing to ignore the ban as they consider there isn't a big enough chance of them being caught.

"We know that the police are working hard to enforce the legislation where they can, but we believe that the government needs to provide more resources to allow the law to be enforced."