Motorists in Dover have been challenged to think about their driving habits, with fire crews showing what can happen if drivers allow themselves to be distracted.

The warning came in the week that one road safety organisation called for the use of hands-free mobile phones by drivers to be banned as well as hand-held mobiles.

Last year 575 people were killed or seriously injured on roads in Kent. Yesterday fire crews and community safety officers were at Tesco’s store at Whitfield asking people to identify their positive and negative driving habits to highlight the risks they may be taking and to encourage them to act more responsibly.

Among those who called in and picked up some safety tips - and a holder for her mobile phone - was Theresa Johns and her daughter Kirsty who was celebrating her 24th birthday.

The 2013 campaign, coordinated by road safety charity Brake, focuses on driver distraction, which is a major cause of death and serious injuries in the UK.

A spokesman for Brake said that while it is illegal to use a hand-held phone to text or call at the wheel, around a third of drivers flout this law, and many others use a hands-free kit, despite both activities causing a dangerous distraction. Other distracting activities such as eating or smoking at the wheel have been shown to increase the risk of crashing, yet lots of drivers own up to doing it.

The community safety team were using a seat belt sled to drive home the importance of wearing a seat belt. Research shows that 14 per cent of adults are inconsistent seat belt wearers, even though using one makes drivers and passengers half as likely to die in crash.

Head of community safety Stuart Skilton,said: “Through our efforts we hope that more people will be encouraged to stay focused while driving, and to think twice about putting themselves or others in danger for the sake of a call, text or other activity that can wait.

“We also hope that seeing the seat belt sled in action helps people realise just how essential it is to buckle up every time you travel in a vehicle, no matter how short their journey.”

Fire crews are among the agencies in Dover's Market Square today offering safety advice for the winter.