Merseyside Police will be shining the spotlight today (March 16) on drivers who fail to "Switch off and Belt up" as they continue their month long Enforcement Campaign, targeting seatbelts and mobile phones.

During the "Spotlight Day" Officers on foot patrol will be out at road junctions across the Force to spot anyone who uses their mobile phones while they're behind the wheel and ensuring that drivers and passengers wear their seatbelts.

The spotlight day follows the change in law which came into force on Tuesday February 27, which now means that using a mobile phone whilst driving could incur a £60 fine, three points on your licence or a two-year prison term.

In addition to Mobile Phone and Seat Belt Offences, Officers will also be concentrating on drivers who disregard road traffic signs and signals and will be adopting a zero tolerance approach towards motorists seen driving through red traffic light signals or not correctly observing road signs and markings.

During a similar day of activity carried out in November last year, over 700 motorists across Merseyside received fixed penalty notices or court summons for failure to wear a seatbelt or using a mobile phone whilst driving.

Research has shown that driving whilst using a mobile means you are four times more likely to crash and your reaction time is 30% worse than driving whilst drunk. Previous Merseyside Police campaigns have shown a high number of motorists in the region are still ignoring warnings about the increased dangers of driving whilst using a mobile phone.

Whilst across the UK, one in 10 drivers and front seat passengers don't wear their seat belts and almost a third of rear seat passengers don't.

Wearing a seat belt has been proven to save 2,200 lives per year.

Roads Policing Inspector Dave Bell said, "The whole aim of this campaign is to reduce the number of people killed or seriously injured on our roads by alerting motorists to the dangers of driving whilst using a mobile phone or travelling in a car and not wearing a seatbelt. Carrying out checks at locations across the region gives us the chance to prosecute the persistent offenders who are prepared to flout the law despite warning, putting their own lives and the lives of other road users at risk.

"This spotlight day is an additional opportunity for us to show the motoring public our commitment towards the enforcement of road traffic offences, through a number of highly visible checks. It also gives us a chance to offer road safety advice and guidance to motorists and make clear the message that we are determined to make the roads of Merseyside amongst the safest in the country."