New figures have revealed a shock rise in drivers being caught on Highland roads using mobile phones and not wearing seatbelts.
North divisional commander Chief Superintendent Julian Innes said he was “pretty fed up” after figures showed a rise in offenders in most Highland areas.
Over the first nine weeks of the financial year the number of motorists caught without a safety belt in the south Highland area only has risen from 10 to 71 year on year.
Mr Innes said: “We’ve done a lot of road safety work and I’m hoping that people once and for all stop using their mobile phones and to put on their seatbelts.
“I can’t understand it. I’m at the point where I’m pretty fed up with it to be honest.”
He added: “Last year 707 were detected for using their mobile phone while driving up on the previous year which was 641.
“We’ve already caught loads of folk this year and seatbelt offences the year before was 806, the last financial year was 976 and the new year shows that we’re still going to have loads of people.
“I am convinced that those three things together, if we can slow folk down, stop using their mobiles and put their seat belts on we will reduce road deaths.”
Figures for the first nine weeks since April 1, showed that motorists are still failing to heed the warnings.
In the north Highland area, mobile phone offenders have risen from 25 to 51 year on year, while over the same period people caught without a seatbelt has jumped from 26 to 74.
In the Inverness area drivers caught with their phones has risen from 66 to 99 – but the number of seatbelt offenders has dropped by four to 91.
The south Highland area showed a startling rise in drivers caught not belting up, jumping from 10 in 2014 to 73 this year.
Mobile phone offenders in the area also rose from 21 to 31.
The number of drivers without a seatbelt has also up from nine to 40 this year in the Western Isles.
Shetland has also seen an increase in both mobile phone and seatbelt offenders.
But Orkney has bucked the trend, with drivers caught using their dropping from three to zero and seatbelt offences being reduced from 31 to 21.
Mr Innes added: “Just now Orkney seems to be a slight exception to the rule but everywhere in the Highlands and islands people are still not putting on their seatbelts and they’re still using their mobile phones.
“I think as a division locally this is one we really have to solve at some point.”