In a survey of British motorists, 78% of drivers admitted to breaking the law whilst driving – and 27% revealed they do so on a daily basis.

The most common offence is speeding, but nearly half of those questioned confessed to using their mobile to phone or text from behind the wheel, and a remarkable 41% said they had driven without wearing a seatbelt.

The survey, undertaken by that most likely of motoring sources, VoucherCodesPro.co.uk, asked 1,651 UK motorists over the age of 18 about their driving habits. All of the respondents drove their car at least five days a week.

The key question was: “Do you ever knowingly break the law whilst driving?”, focusing on anything illegal that could take attention away from the road.

78% – nearly four-fifths – said yes.

When asked how they had broken the law whilst driving during the last month, the top five answers were speeding (71%), texting or phoning (47%), driving without a seatbelt (41%), eating (22%) and tailgating (13%).

But more alarming than this, 7% of those who took part in the poll said they had driven while over the legally proscribed limit for alcohol – yes, that’s also within the last month.

As for how regularly they had broken the law, more than a quarter – 27% – confirmed they did so on a daily basis, while 32% – almost a third – said they did so at least once a week.