Keep your eyes on the road, and not the cellphone is the message the RCMP wants drivers to be aware of this month.

Throughout February, police in Merritt will be stepping up enforcement of distracted driving laws with an awareness and enforcement campaign.

There will be both road checks and stationary enforcement in Merritt.

Const. Kathy Prentice with the Central Interior Traffic Services in Kamloops told the Herald this is a province-wide campaign and a province-wide problem.

Police will typically watch for violators from their marked police cars, but one tactic the Central Interior Traffic Services will use is a sting operation.

A plainclothes officer will watch traffic from a street corner for violators and radio ahead to another officer who will pull said person over.

The fine for using an electronic device without having your hands free or not using a hands-free device is $167, Prentice said.

Additionally, three penalty points are applied against a driver caught texting or sending an email while driving.

Drivers who do not have their full licence are not permitted to use any electronic device – even if it is a hands-free one. They too face a fine of $167 and three driver penalty points for driving contrary to their conditions.

Drivers caught using an electronic device and committing another violation face a fine of $368 for driving without due care.

Last year, 40,000 tickets for using electronic devices or driving without due care and attention were issued in B.C. and 27 per cent of driving fatalities were caused by distracted drivers.

On average, 91 people in British Columbia die each year from distracted driving-related accidents. In southeast B.C., 34 people on average perish in distracted driving-related accidents. That number is 31 in the Lower Mainland.

Police say drivers who need to make phone calls should use a hands-free device. Texting and sending emails while driving is prohibited. If drivers need to send or check a text or email, they must pull over to the side of the road and make a complete stop before doing so.