If you were still unsure about the risks involved in driving while using a mobile phone, consider the plight of the Texan man who drove his £800,000 Bugatti Veyron into a lake.

According to police, the man, who has not been named (probably because he's too embarrassed to say), was 'distracted by a bird' while driving by salt marshes near Galveston, Texas. When a low-flying pelican flew near his car, he dropped his phone, reached down to pick it up and drove into the salt marsh. Fortunately the driver emerged from the three-foot deep pool with only his dignity and bank balance hurt. He has stated that he was not actually talking on his phone at the time.

There are only 15 Bugatti Veyrons in the United States and the man had reportedly only bought it last month (October 2009) from a dealer for $1.25m . It's not a total loss for the hapless owner though, because according to reports he's already become popular among celebrities as a result of the crash - claiming that Arnold Schwarzenegger called him when he heard the news.