Vancouver Police issued nearly 2K distracted driving tickets in 1 month

Vancouver Police handed out 1,969 tickets to distracted drivers throughout the city in the span of just one month.

The effort to crack down on distracted driving is part of a province-wide campaign that launched on Sept. 1.

"If you know someone who just won't give up their phone while driving, maybe you can have some influence," said Sergeant Jason Robillard in a release issued by the VPD.

"We have at least 1,969 reasons to remind our loved ones to pull over or leave the phone alone while driving."

According to police, distracted driving is one of the leading contributing factors of traffic fatalities in B.C. — even surpassing impaired driving.

In the past month, CBC reported stories of a man who received two distracted driving tickets in a span of eight minutes, a man ticketed for playing Pokemon Go, and a daycare driver who was fired after texting while driving with children on board.

The ticket amount for using an electronic device while driving in B.C. is $368.

"But that cost is nothing compared to the cost of losing a loved one. It's time to take a break from your phone," said Robillard.