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Drivers taking selfies were among 5,000 motorists caught using a phone behind the wheel, new figures show.

The figures are for the first two months of 2019 alone in a study on drivers’ distractions.

One in four drivers have used the internet or social media while driving, according to a survey carried out by insurance firm Allianz.

And 18 to 34-year olds were found to be the biggest offenders.

The study found that 27% of respondents claim that their mobile phone is one of the biggest distractions while driving.

When using their phones, 31% of drivers said they were checking the GPS while driving, 6% were using social media, 5% were browsing the internet, 7% were using Google, and 5% even admitted to taking selfies at the wheel.

Social media does not seem to be an issue for motorists aged 55 or over, with 97% claiming to have never used the internet while driving.

Compared to last year’s findings the percentage of drivers who said eating was a distraction stayed the same at 15%, while drinking and the car radio were down 2% and 4% respectively.

Motorists surveyed revealed that the other major distractions are children in the car (18%) and the surrounding scenery (23%), while one in three drivers claimed that other cars or other people in the car were the main disturbance.

Out of the 81% who admitted to using their mobile device or hands-free options, while driving, while pulled over at the side of the road, and while at a stop sign or stop light, the top three functions used were GPS (31%), texts (30%) and voice calls (25%).

(Image: PA)

According to the RSA nearly 5,000 motorists were caught using their phones while driving in the first two months of 2019 alone.

Speaking earlier this year RSA Chief Executive Moyagh Murdock said, “Using your mobile phone when driving makes you four times more likely to crash.

"Despite this, rational, intelligent people continue to text, make phone calls and check into their social media accounts.”

She added: “The offence of holding a mobile phone while driving is the second highest reason for a driver to receive penalty points, after speeding, and 81,199 penalty points notices for mobile phone usage were issued in the three-year period up to end of March 2019."