One in 10 motorists sends smartphone messages while driving without having a hands-free set, the national statistics office CBS said on Friday.

Drivers aged 18 to 35 are most likely to send messages while driving – one in four say they have done this at some point. Men are also more likely than women to send texts while driving.

At the same time, almost all the drivers questioned for the CBS survey said they thought the practice was dangerous, and almost nine in 10 said they thought talking on the phone was dangerous as well.

People who use mobile phones while driving without a hands-free set can be fined and around 600 fatal or serious incidents a year are linked to people making calls or using social media behind the wheel.

However, caretaker transport minister Melanie Schultz said least year that she favours using technology to reduce the problem, such as apps to turn off messaging services while a car is being driven.