About 7 per cent of drivers in south-east Queensland were spotted using their phones behind the wheel during an RACQ study, with Brisbane's north the worst for offending.
The motoring club's observational study ran between February and May, looking at more than 5,000 drivers in one hour in eight locations in the south-east.
About 7 per cent of motorists were caught texting, browsing through their phone or making calls while behind the wheel.
Chermside, in Brisbane's north, took the top spot for the largest number of distracted drivers, coming in at almost 12 per cent.
Cleveland, on Brisbane's Bayside, was the second worst, at 8.5 per cent. Sunshine Coast motorists were the most well behaved.
RACQ spokeswoman Lauren Ritchie said it was an alarming number of distracted drivers for just a "small snapshot in time".
"This is a fairly good indication of just how rampant the activity is right across Queensland," she said.
"It really highlights how thousands of people every day are unnecessarily putting lives at risk."
P-platers, parents caught on phones
The study also found weather appeared to have no impact on this dangerous driver behaviour, with more than 43 drivers spotted on their phones during a heavy downpour.
Ms Ritchie said the blatant recklessness of the behaviour was the most concerning.
"We even spotted a mother with two kids in the back texting on the Sunshine Coast," she said.
"A P-plater in Ipswich [was also caught] and concerningly a driving school instructor in Chermside among those caught illegally using their phones," she said.
"[It is a] deadly habit, bag your phone, put it out of reach and avoid the temptation."
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