A BUSY junction, pedestrians all around, and traffic building up in the city centre – yet still motorists flout the law as plain as day.

Just 24 hours after police ended their crackdown on drivers talking on phones, we took to the streets to see for ourselves if lessons had been learnt.

And it seems, they have not.

We positioned a photographer in Grand Junction Road by the Palace Pier two days running – between the hours of 12.25pm to 2.45pm on Monday and 9.45am to 11.30am on Tuesday.

During that time we clocked motorists talking and texting on the road. One van driver was seen keying into his handset as he negotiated a sharp bend.

Recent Department for Transport figures found 27 per cent of fatal crashes nationwide were because of a “failure to look”, while one in ten were blamed on mobile phone use among other distractions.

Road experts say drivers who use a mobile phone are four times more likely to crash.

Neil Worth from the Guild of Experienced Motorists said: “People really need to not be selfish, make the phone call before you leave the house.

“Nothing is that important, just wait. If you need to take a call, pull over and stop your engine. Do it somewhere safe.”

Many pedestrians we spoke to as we conducted our experiment were shocked to see people talking behind the wheel.

“You can’t put a price on a life,” said Deborah Cook, 55, from Kemp Town.

“I think about the children that have been killed in the past and the effect on their mums and dads.”

Sandra Chalmers, 70, from the North Laine, said: “Distractions cause accidents, perhaps they think they won’t get caught.”

On Monday, January 22, police launched a week-long campaign to catch motorists using their mobile phones.

Superintendent Chris Moon, head of the Surrey and Sussex Roads Policing Unit, said: “It’s concerning that despite our repeated messaging around road safety, there are still a number of motorists who continue to use their phone while driving.”

Sussex Police is currently collating the data from last week’s crackdown.

Since the law was changed last year, drivers caught on their phones by police will be fined £200 and receive six points on their licence.

Refusal to pay could result in disqualification and a £1,000 fine, while the combination of mobile phone use and dangerous driving could lead to a two year jail sentence.

Drivers who passed their test in the last two years will have their licences taken away if they are found to fall foul of the law.

Sussex Police said a total of 765 drivers received points and a penalty notice for using a mobile phone while driving in 2017, although data for this period is still to be gathered. In 2016 the figure was 1,077.