As the ban on using mobile phones while driving comes into effect, BBC News Online venture out with South Wales Police in an unmarked car, to see if the message is being heard.
 Sergeant Nigel Whitehouse is leading the South Wales Police campaign |
The first driver we caught was out on the motorway - a lorry driver called Simon who was clearly using his phone as we overtook him.
He said he had been aware of the new law as it had been on the radio all morning.
"I was just telling the wife not to phone me because of this legislation," he said.
Simon, who actually had a hands-free set in the cab provided by his company, had been speaking on his own personal mobile.
"I told her to give me a ring on the other phone because I was driving."
Sergeant Nigel Whitehouse, Community Traffic Officer for South Wales Police, said he was "annoyed" by drivers using phones.
"I don't think any call is that important to risk a driver's life or possibly another driver," he said.
 | WHAT ARE THE NEW RULES? Apply from 1 December New offence of "using a hand-held phone while driving" �30 fixed penalty fine Rising to up to �1,000 if the matter goes to court Rising to up to �2,500 for drivers of vans, buses, coaches and lorries |
"He [Simon] was driving an 18-tonne vehicle - if something went wrong there, the chances are it would be something major.
"The road conditions are not good and, if things happen on the motorway, they happen at speed - it is a recipe for disaster".
Back in the centre of Bridgend, white van driver Derek was also spotted on a call at a busy junction.
He said he also knew the law had changed.
"When you are delivering, you don't really realise - I've got my mate with me and he usually answers the phone," he said.
"I have got a hands-free kit with a speaker I have just bought and that's what I am going to fit now."
Sergeant Whitehouse said particular types of drivers seemed to be the worst offenders.
"Company drivers, van drivers, lorry drivers - they feel they have got to be in contact with the office minute by minute - they stick out," he said.
"There is also a problem with young drivers."
He said that he expected more people to stop breaking the law when they knew they could be handed penalty points and disqualification as a result.
The Association of Chief Police Officers had recommended drivers are given a period of grace before on-the-spot fines are handed out,
But Sergeant Whitehouse said that drivers caught by South Wales Police should not expect such leniency.
"We will treat each case on its merits, especially with poor road conditions," he said.
He said there were eight fatalities due to mobile phones in the UK last year, and said it was a growing problem.
"It is not uncommon to see up to 60 people an hour using phones - it is reaching epidemic proportions."
 Police will be stopping drivers and handing out fines |
He also added that officers would be looking at the content of the conversations that people were having, as different calls could be more engrossing.
He added that, although people were still allowed to use hands-free kits, he understood why many road safety groups were calling for these to be outlawed too.
But he said it would be very difficult legislation to enforce.
He added that drivers should remember that road safety should come first at all times.
"Whether it is a mobile phone, people changing CDs, cassettes, fiddling with the radio, shaving, or putting make-up on - all these are a huge distraction on the driver's ability to concentrate and could end up in a collision."
An all-Wales campaign to crack down on drivers using phones will be launched in March.
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It is not uncommon to see up to 60 people an hour using phones - it is reaching epidemic proportions 
