Police stopped 43 people in ONE WEEK driving while on their mobile phone in Burton.
Last week, January 22-28, unmarked police cars were out on Staffordshire roads, including around the Burton area, in an attempt to clamp down on drivers using their mobile phones.
The act has been illegal since 2003 and laws brought in last year have seen motorists given six points on their licences and a £200 fine if they are caught, with new drivers having their licences removed entirely.
For last week's campaign, police targeted all major roads in the county, including the A34, A38, A500 and A50.
The only time you can legally use a hand-held phone when driving is if you are safely parked with your engine switched off or you need to call 999 or 112 in an emergency and it is unsafe or impractical to stop.
The Burton drivers were caught as part of a week-long national campaign. Officers from the central motorway police group (CMPG) and Staffordshire police tactical support unit also held a series of engagement events to educate drivers about the dangers of being distracted at the wheel.
Ahead of the campaign, Inspector Sion Hathaway, of CMPG, said that most offenders are men over the age of 35.
He urged drivers to get into the habit of putting their phone in the glove box.
Inspector Hathaway said: "More and more people are using their mobiles for texts, e-mails and streaming.
"They may think that just because they haven't got the phone to their ear then they can get away with it, but that's not the case.
"We will have officers everywhere, so don't think you will be safe to read a text if you're on the road.
"If we see you using your mobile you will be stopped and issued with a fixed penalty notice.
"The public must understand how dangerous something as simple as looking at your phone can be.
"We know who we are looking for, as in previous campaigns 80 per cent of offenders were male and 72 per cent of all motorists who committed an offence were over 35.
"The message we want to get across to drivers is, before you start your journey, get into the habit of putting your phone in the glove compartment to avoid the temptation of looking at it while you're driving.
"In fact, call it your phone compartment from now on."
