Drivers: Motorists are being urged to switch off their phones when they get in the car.© HEMEDIA / SWNS Group
Campaigners are calling on motorists to turn off their mobile phones to improve road safety.
The message, part of a campaign from the Brake charity, comes at the start of Road Safety Week, and is supported by the Association of Chief Police Officers.
Brake wants to see drivers turning off their phones or putting them in the boot and also urges everyone to refuse to speak on the phone to someone who is driving.
The organisation said nearly 85,000 Scottish drivers have points on their licence for using their mobile phone at the wheel. One in 11 of those drivers have six points or more for that offence.
A survey also found six in ten Scottish schoolchildren report being driven by a motorist who was talking on the phone.
Brake also highlighted research showing that 98% of drivers are unable to divide their time without it affecting performance and that mobile phone use at the wheel as well as eating, drinking and smoking are all proven to increase the risk of a crash.
Deputy chief executive Julie Townsend said: 'We're living in an age when being constantly connected is the norm. More and more of us have smartphones, and find it hard to switch off, even for a minute.
'While there are enormous benefits to this new technology, it's also posing dangerous temptations to drivers to divert their concentration away from the critical task at hand, often putting our most vulnerable road users in danger.
'Many people who wouldn't dream of drink-driving are succumbing to using their phone and other distractions while driving, oblivious that the effect can be similar and the consequences just as horrific.'
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