New survey asks drivers if they have broken the law

But the Lincolnshire Road Safety Partnership, who have issued the survey, are quick to stress that they are not trying to catch anyone out and that the survey is completely anonymous.

Towards the end of the survey, which is intended to gather information on public perception of road safety in the county to help the partnership identify any areas that are of particular concern, there are two questions likely to raise a few eyebrows.

Both termed ‘Anonymous’ questions, to reinforce the message that there is total anonimity, they ask - ‘Have you used a handheld mobile phone whilst driving in the past year? (including to text)’ and ‘Have you chosen not to wear a seatbelt (where fitted) when driving a motor vehicle in the past year?’.

John Siddle of the Lincolnshire Road Safety Partnership said: “Each year we receive hundreds of complaints from people about motorists, many concerning the illegal use of mobile phones while driving and others about not wearing a seatbelt.

“These issues are of great concern to us and we want people to be open and honest with us. I assure them there will be no repercussions, the survey is totally anonymous. We have no intention of trying to catch people out.

“We are constantly being told about drivers continuing to use their mobile phones because they are confident ‘they can get away with it’, so we are really interested to hear back from people. If respondents tell us they don’t consider it dangerous to use a mobile phone while driving then that flags up that we have a problem and we should be looking at different methods of enforcement and ways to get the message over to people more strongly to make them aware of just how dangerous it is.”

Mr Siddle added: “Since 2000 there has been a significant reduction in the number of people killed or seriously injured on our roads, but we want to do better. Whilst we have ongoing contact with the public on individual issues, we want to take this opportunity to get the views of a wide range of road users.”

The survey can be completed online at https://snapsurveys.lincolnshire.gov.uk/snapwebhost/s.asp?k=147334038596

Hard copies of the survey will also be available at police stations and other public offices across the county, or contact the Lincolnshire Road Safety Partnership on 01522 805800 if you want to get hold of a hard copy.

This survey will run until November.