Motorists caught making calls, texting or browsing the internet while driving face higher on the spot fines and more points on their licence. Transport Secretary Chris Grayling said on Saturday that he will be announcing new sanctions in the coming weeks, to take effect in the first half of next year.

Using a mobile phone while driving was a contributory factor in 21 fatal accidents in 2014 and 22 in 2015, according to the Department for Transport.

Chris Grayling’s intervention follows a report last Thursday from the RAC which said the illegal use of mobile phones while driving has reached “epidemic proportions”. The motoring group estimates that 11M motorists have made or received a call while driving in the last year and 5M have taken photographs or videos while at the wheel of a moving vehicle.

The RAC says that attitudes towards mobile phone use at the wheel have relaxed over the last two years. The proportion of people who feel it is acceptable to take a quick call while driving has doubled to 14%, it says. And one in five drivers now feel it is safe to check social media on their phone while stationary, either at traffic lights or in congestion.

The percentage of drivers who say it is not acceptable to take a quick call at the wheel has fallen from 84% in 2014 to 78% today, the group adds.

RAC road safety spokesman Peter Williams said: “The use of handheld mobile phones is the biggest road safety concern among motorists today. Motorists are increasingly worried about the number of other drivers who appear to be hooked on using their smartphones while driving, making them a significant risk to other road users.

“With the advent of a new era in gaming we need to address the temptation which some feel unable to resist and make the use of handheld phones while driving an absolute no go.”

The Transport Research Laboratory’s head of transport psychology Shaun Helman said that any task that involves holding a device, looking at it and interacting with it during driving will adversely affect driving performance. “Even simply speaking on a mobile phone can slow reaction times to sudden events, as much as being at the legal limit for blood alcohol. Interacting with social media is even more demanding than simply speaking,” he said.

Shaun Helman added that attitudes and behaviours can change for the better. Drink driving was once socially acceptable but is now widely seen as unacceptable. The same could happen, he said, with distracted driving.

IAM Roadsmart head of road safety policy Kevin Delaney said he supports the proposal to increase penalties for those caught using their mobile phone behind the wheel.

But he said: “I don’t think increasing penalties is going to provide a long term sustainable option for dealing with driver distraction.” Legislation relating to mobile phones and driving dates back to 2003 and is no longer fit for purpose considering advances in technology, he pointed out.

“The potential for driver distraction today is immense compared to 2003,” adds Kevin Delaney. “Government needs to develop legislation that will spur manufacturers to devise systems that reduce that potential.” For example he suggested technology that blocks certain smartphone functions while the user is driving, similar to the ‘flight safe mode’.