March is Distracted Driving awareness month – which is probably as good as reason as any to leave your phone alone when you're behind the wheel.
Ridge Meadows RCMP have already run one checkstop in Pitt Meadows at the start of the month.
They're planning another on March 22 in Maple Ridge.
That will entail first road signs warning people about distracted driving. Farther down the road will be volunteers with the local SpeedWatch who will also function as cellphone watch, who will be on the lookout for motorists on their mobiles.
If drivers still don't get the hint, police will be waiting yet a bit farther down the road, ready to issue $368 ticket and four driver's licence demerit points for those caught using their phones.
Police say despite the public awareness efforts, people are still using cellphones while driving.
“More than 800 crashes occur every day in B.C., many of these caused by distracted driving,” Kate Woochuk, local ICBC road safety coordinator, said in a release.
“No call or text is worth the risk. Distracted driving is a dangerous and preventative behaviour that we must all commit to ending.”
Cpl. Amanda Harnett said in a Ridge Meadows RCMP release suggested that people turn off their phones and put them in the trunk while they're driving, to avoid temptation.
"If we all do our part, roads will be much safer.”
Latest stats show that distracted driving causes 25 per cent of the fatal crashes in B.C.
After speeding, it's the second-leading cause of deaths. Impaired driving causes the third-most deaths.
ICBC statistics from 2015 show that speeding causes 31 per cent, distracted driving 30 per cent and impaired driving 23 per cent of motor vehicle deaths.