It only takes a second of distraction to kill on the roads - as the sentencing of Tomasz Kroker this week demonstrated so terribly.

Tracy Houghton, her sons Ethan, 13, and Joshua, 11, and her stepdaughter Aimee Goldsmith, also 11, would be alive today if the use of mobile phones by drivers was considered as socially unacceptable as drink driving.

READ MORE: WARNING: Distressing content - Dashcam footage released of fatal crash caused by lorry driver on his phone

Instead, we see an epidemic of mobile phone use at the wheel.

So today we make no apology for publishing a gallery of shame.

An Observer photographer captured images of motorists using their phones at the wheel just days after 30-year-old Kroker was sentenced for ten years.

In just three hours she captured images of five people using hand held mobile phones to either talk or text, one of whom was driving a heavy goods vehicle.

Dramatic footage of Kroker's terrible accident, which took place on the A34 near Newbury, was shown across news channels on Monday as police nationwide warned drivers of the horrific consequences of using a mobile phone while driving.

They hope the tragic deaths of Tracy Houghton, 45, her sons Ethan, 13, and Joshua, 11, and partner's daughter Aimee Goldsmith, also 11, will stop drivers risking their own lives and those of other road users.

The government also plans to double penalties for mobile phone use at the wheel to six points and a £200 on-the-spot fine.

On Monday Reading Crown Court heard Kroker had been so distracted he barely looked at the road for a kilometre as he scrolled through music selections on his phone.

Kate Goldsmith, Aimee's mother, said Kroker had turned his lorry into a "lethal weapon" by using his phone while driving at 50mph, and she made a plea to all road users to learn the lessons from the case.

"We urge you to make a personal commitment to stop using mobile phones while driving and make our roads safer for everyone," she said.