Police are stepping up roadside checks across Malaga province this week in a bid to crackdown on mobile phone usage at the wheel, it has emerged.

It comes after new data showed driver distraction was linked to almost one-third of all accidents involving injuries during the first half of 2026.

The special enforcement campaign began on Monday, October 5, and will continue until Sunday, October 11, on both urban roads and interurban routes.

Officers from the Guardia Civil’s traffic division will take part alongside participating local police forces.

The DGT will also use automated equipment, including road cameras capable of detecting motorists using mobile phones.

Between January 1 and June 30, Malaga province recorded 504 road accidents in which somebody was injured or killed, equivalent to almost three every day.

Driver distraction was identified as a contributing factor in 163 of those accidents, or 32.34% of the total.

Those incidents resulted in five deaths, 24 people being admitted to hospital and another 238 suffering injuries that did not require hospitalisation.

The average age of those killed was 53, while hospitalised victims had an average age of 43.

Although distracted driving can include eating, interacting with passengers or adjusting vehicle systems, the improper use of mobile phones remains one of the principal concerns.

During last year’s national enforcement campaign, phone use accounted for 47.4% of all distraction-related offences detected.

European survey data cited by the DGT found that 22% of motorists admitted holding a phone during conversations while driving, while 23% said they had read messages or checked social media.

A further 51% reported using hands-free equipment. Although legally permitted in many circumstances, the DGT warns that a conversation can still create a cognitive distraction even when the driver is not holding the device.

Distraction can be visual, auditory, physical or cognitive. Affected drivers are more likely to drift from their lane, react slowly and miss important information around them.

The campaign forms part of Roadpol’s European Focus on the Road operation.

During the equivalent campaign in Malaga in October 2025, officers monitored 36,893 vehicles.

Police checked 6,782 vehicles on urban roads and issued 160 fines, representing 2.36% of the total.

On interurban roads, 436 of the 30,111 vehicles checked resulted in a report or fine, equivalent to 1.45%.