The vice chairperson of charity Road Safe NI says empirical evidence shows the problem has not reduced
Some 58% reported that they used their device in some capacity when at the wheel.
This is a decrease from the 64% who reported doing so in 2020/21, according to a Department for Infrastructure (DfI) bulletin.
But a road safety charity said the reported drop was at odds with empirical evidence.
Peter Melarkey, the vice chair of Road Safe NI, urged caution over the date.
“This is a report that looks to be from a survey rather than actual figures. Empirical evidence would tell you that it is still as bad, or maybe even on the increase,” he said.
“There seems to be more and more people seen using the phone, especially sitting in queues of traffic.
“You go past drivers and you see them looking down at their hands, they’re not looking at the road.
“The use of mobile phones and distraction is high-profile in the media. The difficulty is there is possibly not enough education on it.
“It would probably take more detection and prosecutions to drive it down further but the Roads Policing are under pressure from funding.
“There is a possibility that they might draw back some of their Road Safety Education Officers into operational policing.”
Making a hands-free call amounted to the highest usage of mobile phones while driving (51%), with 49% making calls in a moving vehicle and 47% inside a stationary vehicle.
Those using a sat nav or listening to music made up the next highest percentage (23%), while 10% admitted having a quick check of their phone while driving.
A further 8% said they had made a handheld call and 3% indicated they had used their phone to access email or social media.
The data also showed that the acts of texting or quickly checking phones decreased the most from the previous year’s figures, with both recording a fall of 6%.
Overall the statistics showed that the most likely group to use mobile phones while driving were males under the age of 65 from less deprived urban areas.
Mr Melarkey said the stereotype of the “boy racer” was still prevalent in road safety discussions.
“The stereotype has been an ongoing issue for decades. The difficulty there is the education piece and that comes down to funding,” he said.
“We do work on it, and the Fire and Rescue service has a program that they take into schools and clubs. Unless you have an increase in that and you change the mindset, it’s difficult.”
Mr Melarkey also raised concerns at recent data showing an increase in pedestrian deaths in Northern Ireland, with the figure rising from eight to 16 last year.
“It would be interesting to see how the increase in pedestrian deaths is linked to mobile phone usage,” he said.
“People are walking in dark clothes, wearing headphones with a mobile phone or they are walking along looking into a phone or with it in their ear.
“Things like social media and emails. What is it about them that can’t wait? Even answering a phone.
“The only safe and legal way to use a mobile phone is to pull over in a safe place and switch off the engine.”