The government's decision to raise some traffic fines was a positive one but could just be the first step in further increases.

“We’re already being told €100 is nowhere near enough,” Police Inspector Sandro Camilleri, secretary of the Police officers' union said.

By way of comparison, driving while using a phone in the UK can cost a driver up to £1,000 (€1,150), and a conviction can cost a driver three penalty points, where 12 can lead to a total driving ban.

Some 18,000 fines have been issued by wardens and traffic police to motorists found using their their phones since 2014. A review of previous years’ convictions shows a steady growth of around 15 per cent in the number of drivers fined for mobile phone use while driving every year. 

The Times of Malta first reported that the fines were set to increase last September.

A total of 2,000 motorists are fined every month for using their phones while driving, official figures show. The government pledged to introduce the fines as part of the budgetary measures announced last year.

Parliament discussed increasing the penalties for mobile phone use from €50 to €100 in 2010. A legal notice setting the steeper penalties was issued the following year, yet this newspaper last year revealed that these penalties were not enforced.

A recent survey by the UK’s Transport Research Laboratory showed that a driver’s reaction time slowed by 46 per cent when making a call on a hand-held mobile, by 37 per cent when texting while driving and by 27 per cent during hands-free calls.

In comparison, reaction times of those who had used cannabis slowed by 21 per cent and, for those on the drink-drive limit, by 13 per cent.