Almost a third admitted their own safety was “extremely impaired”.

One in 10 owned up to regularly crossing the road while glued to their electronic gadget, the study said. And 4 per cent confessed to sending emails and text messages while weaving between moving cars.

Hundreds of pedestrians got distracted by their iPods or MP3 players while crossing a busy road, the researchers who conducted the survey said.

Ten per cent of the drivers revealed they’d had a near miss with a pedestrian using a gadget in the past five years.

John O’Roarke, for LV car insurance, a mutual insurance company which commissioned the study, said: “Pedestrians need to wake up to the dangers while using them.”