He said: "One thing we have been worried about is the rise of iPod zombies. These are pedestrians who have earplugs in or iPhones out.
"They are listening to music or texting and they are not concentrating on traffic."
He added that drivers were often becoming more relaxed at the wheel because cars were now easier to drive.
Despite the trend, the Department for Transport said the number of fatalities on the roads last year had fallen by 45 per cent compared to 2005.
The decrease was attributed to improvements in education and training, improvements in vehicle technology, highway engineering and road safety policies.
