Nearly four in five drivers have admitted to distracted driving such as checking text messages, eating food and adjusting navigation apps in a new survey.A total of 78 per cent of respondents to the survey admitted to being distracted while behind the wheelThe survey, carried out by 3Gem Research and Insights on behalf of insurance company Aviva, asked 1,000 drivers about their driving habits.It found 31 per cent of drivers check navigation apps while driving, while three in 10 drivers said they eat or drink while driving.Adjusting dashboard screens while driving is a habit for 15 per cent of Irish drivers, the survey suggests.While stopped in traffic or at red lights, one in ten respondents said they use their phone. A further 7 per cent admitted to reading messages, scrolling social media or replying to messages while behind the wheel.“This research shows how easily everyday habits can become safety risks,” Julie Frazer, Aviva Insurance Ireland’s underwriting and product lead, said.“Using map apps, adjusting touchscreens or checking messages at traffic lights has become normal for many people, but even a quick look at a screen can take your eye off the road long enough to miss a hazard or react too slowly,” she said.Frazer said the number of mobile phone offences on Irish roads are proof that “distraction remains an important road safety issue”.Figures from An Garda Síochána show 24,500 mobile phone offences were committed on Irish roads in 2025, more than 11 per cent higher than in 2024.This “alarming” number of offences occurred as just 8 per cent of motorists were detected using mobile phones while driving in 2025, the Road Safety Authority (RSA) said in January.The RSA has previously speculated the number of drivers using mobile phones behind the wheel is more widespread than the data suggests.The belief among gardaí is that the number of drivers being caught using their phones represented just a tiny fraction of the true level of phone-related offending on the roads.The force began to use an unmarked heavy goods vehicle, the “supercab”, to catch drivers engaging in distracted driving.Other countries in Europe, such as the UK, have introduced cameras using artificial intelligence in an effort to combat the behaviour, but gardaí do not expect that approach to be introduced in Ireland any time soon.