Motorists on their phones is the “drink-driving” of this generation, with the distraction being under-reported in crash statistics, authorities say.

Experts are meeting on Friday to solve Victoria’s soaring road death toll, which has reached 137 this year, compared with 88 at the same time in 2018.

Speaking ahead of the summit, the state’s roads safety minister, Jaala Pulford, said a new media campaign will highlight the danger of drivers using mobile phones.

“Mobile phone use in cars is the drink-driving of this generation,” she said. “The research tells us people think just two seconds is not as horrifically hazardous as it is.

“If you’re travelling at 100km/h an hour, for 55 metres it’s equivalent to having a blindfold on.”

A Transport Accident Commission survey of 1,742 Victorians aged 18 to 60 revealed a third used the devices illegally while driving.

Research shows motorists of all ages are failing to heed the danger, said Joe Calafiore, the chief executive of the commission, which receives 22,000 new injured clients a year.

“It’s absolutely frightening and horrifying the consequences of the accidents the TAC sees,” Calafiore said.

“I was chatting to a trauma surgeon at the Alfred the other week. He said in seven out of the eight trauma wards in the hospital were people admitting to the hospital [that] they were on their phones.

“The statistics may be at the 10-20% level, but we know as road safety professionals, the proportion is much higher than that.”

Besides alcohol, drugs and speed, which are often factors in fatal crashes, distraction continues to be one of the biggest killers, police say.

The road policing command’s assistant commissioner, Stephen Leane, said people are becoming increasingly distracted by the technology in their cars.

Most lives lost this year have been on country roads, despite a recent increase in the number of wire rope barriers, maintenance works and speed cameras, along with more police officers on the road.

Authorities blame distraction, older cars, older roads and higher speeds.

Motorcyclists are also over-represented in the toll, with 26 killed this year, 10 more than this time last year. Some weren’t wearing a properly fitted helmet and others had no head protection.

Leane urged drivers to play their role to prevent more deaths, and not just leave it to police or experts to solve.