Is it just me noticing it or has the number of drivers talking on
their hand-held mobiles crept back up again? It seemed to stop for a
while when it was made an offence but there seems to be loads again
now.

It's not just you...

Drivers have realised that unless a policemen actually happens to be right
next to them with nothing else to do, when they get out their mobiles,
nothing will happen.

Then again, I regularly see cyclists on the road chatting happily into their
hand-helds (or texting) too, which also needs to be looked into.

pOB