One in three motorists admit to texting and drive as survey finds it as bad as drug driving More than one in three SA motorists admit to texting and driving. MORE than one in three South Australian motorists admit to texting while driving, despite many acknowledging that it is as dangerous as drug driving and speeding. A survey of more than 600 South Australians conducted by Newspoll reveals hundreds of drivers admit to texting and driving at the same time. And authorities have warned that the huge growth in texting, surfing the internet, browsing social media, checking emails and making calls are making driving increasingly dangerous. Thirty-five per cent of SA drivers surveyed said they had sent or read a text message while driving in the past 12 months. Eighteen per cent believed mobile devices were the greatest safety issue on our roads, putting it in the same league as drugs (19 per cent) and speeding (18 per cent). Texting and driving has become such a widespread problem that insurer AAMI, which commissioned the survey, has just added texting and driving exercises to its nationwide skilled drivers course. More: Texting drivers miss message of danger National figures are even more disturbing, with a leap in the percentage of people admitting they have been distracted while driving mirroring the huge growth in smart phone use. A survey of 3700 drivers across Australia this year found that 13 per cent of people who have had an accident in the last five years admitted that it was caused by distraction. In a comparison of that survey with a similar one conducted in 2010, there were significant rises in the proportion of drivers admitting that they had been distracted by specific activities. They included text messaging (51 per cent, up from 36 per cent); reading emails on phone (23 per cent, up from 6 per cent); checking or adjusting GPS (38 per cent, up from 2 per cent); and making mobile phone calls (43 per cent, up from 38 per cent). AAMI's decision to include texting and driving exercises was prompted by a huge rise in the number of people making insurance claims due to distraction. The primary culprit is texting and driving. Examples of recent AAMI claims include: A YOUNG female driver was texting while at an intersection. She didn't realise she had rolled forward into the intersection and a truck crashed into the front of the car. A FEMALE driver, 18, was texting while turning right into a supermarket car park. She did not see an oncoming car, which crashed into the side of her car. Both vehicles were written off. A YOUNG driver who was texting and driving was hit by another car while making a right-hand turn out of a street. Both the driver and passenger suffered whiplash injuries. The car was a write-off. The alarming new figures come as the Sunday Mail's Booty Call campaign urges drivers to put their mobile phones in the boot or glove-box while on the road. During July, police are continuing Operation Distraction - a statewide blitz targeting distracted drivers. It has so far caught 1252 people unlawfully using a mobile phone while driving. Acting Officer in Charge of the Traffic Support Branch, Detective Inspector Peter Duance, said SA Police identified distraction - which includes texting while driving - among the five factors which commonly contribute to road crashes. "Driving while using a mobile device or other hand-held device is not dissimilar to driving drunk or under the influence of drugs," he said. Drivers using their phones are slower to brake, slower to resume their normal speed after braking and much more likely to be involved in rear-end collisions. Motor Accident Commission chief executive Jerome Maguire said the huge growth of smart phones - including the internet on mobile devices - was making driving on even more dangerous. "Mobile phones are now pocket computers, allowing drivers to not only make phone calls and send text messages, but also for social media purposes so there's an even stronger temptation to be more frequently distracted," he said. Research shows that using a mobile phone while driving increases your chance of a crash by as much as three times. RAA road safety senior manager Charles Mountain agreed the problem of texting and driving was increasing with the popularity of smart phones. "We have become more and more attached to our mobile phones with things like internet access and social media, but it seems these technological advances are only creating more problems for us on the roads," he said. Mr Mountain said the RAA had recognised the importance of teaching young drivers not to text and drive. "It's important to reach out to young people well before they begin to learn how to drive, so these important road safety messages are already part of their overall attitude towards being a responsible driver," he said.