The RCMP handed out 72 distracted driving tickets in March 2017. They doubled it last month

In early March, Coquitlam RCMP announced they would use “innovative techniques” to target distracted drivers.

Those techniques helped police to double the number of tickets they wrote for distracted driving in March 2018 compared to the same month last year, said a news release.

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Police handed out 145 tickets for distracted driving in March 2018, up from the 72 distracted driving infractions in March 2017.

“It looks like our enhanced enforcement efforts, combined with the use of special techniques like a bucket truck to spot people using their phones, were very effective,” RCMP Cpl. Michael McLaughlin said in a release.

Distracted driving accounts for an average of 78 deaths per year, more than impaired driving fatalities in the province, according to ICBC.

The B.C. government introduced stiffer penalties for the offence earlier this year in an effort to tackle the issue.

Though more tickets have been issued, that wasn’t the goal for police, according to McLaughlin.

“Ultimately our goal is not to write tickets, but to educate people that distracted driving is illegal, dangerous, and carries stiff financial penalties,” he said.

Police reminded drivers to resist the urge of using their cellphones during driving, including at stop lights.