Nearly 7,000 drivers in Leicestershire have points on their licences after being caught using a mobile phone at the wheel.
The figure has been revealed by the charity Brake at the launch of this year's National Road Safety Week campaign.
Graham Compton, senior traffic management officer for Leicestershire Police, said using a hand-held mobile phone behind the wheel was a distraction which could be deadly.
He said: "You cannot concentrate both on driving and the road ahead of you while being distracted by texting or having a conversation with a phone to your ear – it's impossible and is the cause of too many fatal accidents.
"We spent two years advising offenders when the law changed, but now people have been warned. There is no excuse and if caught they will be prosecuted."
Brake said 6,871 people in Leicestershire have racked up a total of 21,727 points on their licences for using a hand-held phone while driving.
As part of Road Safety Week, which began yesterday, Brake is now urging drivers to avoid using their mobile phone completely while at the wheel – meaning hands-free devices are brought into the equation.
It is also calling on people to refuse to speak on the phone to someone who is driving.
Brake campaigns officer Ellie Pearson said: "Distraction reduces hazard perception and increases reaction times in a similar way to drink-driving, making drivers much more likely to cause deaths and injury. Drivers who think they can multitask are fooling themselves.
"Many people who wouldn't dream of drink-driving are succumbing to using their phone, oblivious that the effect can be similar and the consequences just as horrific.
"We are calling on drivers in Leicestershire to tune into road safety by turning off their phone or putting it in the boot."
In 15 minutes observing mid-afternoon traffic in London Road, Leicester, on Friday, a Leicester Mercury reporter spotted five motorists – three men and two women – on their phones.
Offenders face disqualification and a fine of up to £1,000, while drivers who cause a crash and kill someone while using a phone could face up to 14 years in prison.
Traffic officers who are out in force this week as part of Road Safety Week crackdowns are also focusing on drivers who are speeding, not wearing a seatbelt or suspected of drink-driving.
Those three offences – and driving while using a mobile phone – are known collectively as the Fatal4.
There are regular patrols in the city and county which focus on the Fatal4.
The running total of mobile phone offences picked up in 20 police-led Fatal4 initiatives in Leicestershire so far this year is about 160.
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