Drivers are being urged to concentrate on the road and resist distractions following an “alarming” rise in road deaths.

Across Essex, 22 people have died on the roads since January, with 14 of the casualties either drivers or passengers.

In-depth police investigations into the accidents are ongoing, but the Safer Essex Roads Partnership (SERP) – formed of Essex County Council, emergency services and Highways England – says the two “dominant causes” are head on collisions and loss of control.

SERP said its own research shows in-car distractions such as mobile phones, radio and heating controls or passengers are the most common causes of these types of accident.

Chairwoman Nicola Foster said: “I urge drivers to concentrate fully on their driving to avoid the devastating consequences which can result from being distracted.

“There really is no excuse for using a mobile phone whilst driving.

“Driving a car is a task which requires a driver’s full attention.”

She added that turning mobile phones off and putting them out of sight could potentially save lives.

In an Essex Police operation earlier this month, 52 drivers were stopped at three places in Epping Forest for using mobile phones.

Inspector Danny Parsons said: “We will continue to enforce and educate Essex drivers who are caught using any hand held device.

“We also urge passengers not to distract drivers whilst they are driving and to tell a driver to stop using a hand held device if need be.”

Although SERP has highlighted driver issues, concerns have been raised that falling numbers of dedicated road policing officers could contribute to the number of road deaths.

A 2015 survey by the RAC showed traffic officer numbers countywide had fallen by 71 per cent since 2010.

Speaking to Echo News last week, Mark Smith, chairman of Essex Police Federation, said: “We have serious concerns about the lack of policing the roads of Essex are receiving since cuts were made to our roads policing unit.

“Over the last year alone we have seen 49 road related deaths and more than 700 serious injuries on Essex roads.

“I do not think the cuts are the only factor here – but I do believe they are a significant factor.”

Essex Police previously said that the dedicated road officers are now supported by 111 officers and staff in other specialist road policing roles.