Using a mobile phone can have a greater effect on driver skills than alcohol or drugs, new research has revealed.

According to the study of 12 to 24-year-old motorists conducted by TRL on behalf of the RAC Foundation, sending a text message can impair reaction times by 35 per cent, compared with 12 per cent when consuming the legal limit of alcohol.

Meanwhile, driving under the influence of cannabis was found to reduce reaction times by 21 per cent.

The researchers also noted that steering control was 91 per cent worse when sending a text message, car insurance customers may be interested to know.

Dr Nick Reed said: "When texting, drivers are distracted by taking their hand off the wheel to use their phone, by trying to read small text on the phone display, and by thinking about how to write their message."

Motorists are therefore at a "greater risk" than if they had consumed alcohol to the legal limit, he added.

The government recently announced new legislation on careless driving that allows courts to consider avoidable distractions, such as using a mobile phone, when sentencing motorists who have caused death by failing to pay attention to the road.

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