In fact this weekend they have gone to the extraordinary length of punishing these drivers by taking 10 points off their licence.

While police have always taken a particularly dim view of drivers who speed or neglect to wear their motocycle helmets or seatbelts, this is the first time they’ve come down hard on illegal mobile phone use.

Operation Slow Down started at 12.01am on Friday and wraps up at 11.59pm on Monday and is designed to target the ‘big five’ factors behind serious injury and fatal crashes: speeding, drink or drug driving, seatbelt offences, fatigue, and distraction.

Many young drivers take their phone with them everywhere, whether they’re in bed or the bathroom, so answering their phones, no matter where they are, must be a hard habit to break.

Anecdotally we know drivers don’t view driving while talking and holding their mobile phones as being particularly dangerous and it certainly hasn’t had the same media focus or marketing spend as some other dangerous driving activities.

In fact it’s common place to pull up at a set of lights and see people illegally using their mobile phones or for people to place their phone on their lap as they talk or seek driving directions.

Maybe in this day and age where people are used to being constantly stimulated the thought of a silent drive home is too much to take.

Or is it that we are so time poor that we can’t afford not to have our time in the car just as productive as it would be if we were at home or at work?

Most driver distractions relate to technology, and can include anything from texting to adjusting the radio or simply interacting with other passengers.

Last financial year, NSW Police fined about 40,000 people for using their phones while driving, 2,000 more than the previous year.

We’re even hearing reports that police encounter drivers juggling two phone, iPads or watching movies on video screens.

Even if the screens are mounted they still serve as a distraction and any time a driver is distracted they increase the likelihood of causing an accident or not being able to act quickly enough to avoid one.

Surely avoiding an accident is worth missing that phone call for?