Reducing the number of drivers who continue to use mobile phones behind the wheel is a priority for police in Fife, a leading officer has said.
Nearly 1,400 drivers throughout Fife were detected driving while talking on a mobile phone in the past year, according to new figures presented to councillors in Kirkcaldy.
While representing a drop of 10% on the 2013/14 statistics, town councillors expressed their shock at the extent of the problem during a presentation from local chief inspector Nicola Shepherd.
Expressing her own discontent, she told members of the Kirkcaldy area committee that improving road safety was a critical area of work for her officers.
“Is it a priority for us? Absolutely,” she said. “There are devices out there so drivers can use their phones hands-free and some are not using them.
“These are educational issues (but) it is particularly frustrating as there is a technical solution.”
Figures presented to Kirkcaldy councillors showed that 1,395 drivers in Fife were detected using a mobile phone while behind the wheel between April 2014 and March 2015 down from 1,557 the year before.
However, there was an acknowledgment that illegal phone use was more widespread than the figures suggest, with area chairman Neil Crooks calling for the public to shop those who continue to flout the law.
“Using a phone in a car can cause deaths and we have to communicate to the public not to do it.
“The public can help the police in this matter and if they see somebody using a mobile phone in a car they can call it in.
“The police will follow it up and at the very least that might make people think twice before doing it again.”
The subject of road safety inevitably raised the issue of traffic around schools a major issue in Kirkcaldy.
Speeding and parking remain constant concerns at a number of schools, with residents near Strathallan Primary having frequently raised issues with the number of vehicles gathering on roads at the start and end of the school day.
Meanwhile, Pathhead Primary School last week unveiled a safety initiative with pupils teaming up with police officers to detect speeding drivers with hand-held cameras.
“This is a really significant issue,” said Mr Crooks.
“We are looking for creative solutions but that just creates more problems.
“I don’t know what the answer is but we need to find one.”