Prince George RCMP issued 19 tickets over a two-hour span on Thursday afternoon to motorists found to be using their cellphones and other handheld devices while driving.
What could be described as a "texting and talking" trap was set up at an undisclosed location in the city.
Officers in unmarked cars searched out violators, who were then pulled over by police in regular patrol vehicles, Cpl. Craig Douglass said.
The tickets were issued under a section of the Motor Vehicle Act related to distracted driving.
Using a hands-free device is OK although Douglass stressed that those getting into "emotional" conversations would still be wise to pull over. Similarly, he said checking a cell phone while stopping at a fresh red light is not a problem.
Douglass said tickets were issued for texting while driving as well as for talking while on the move.
"Both were happening," he said.
And he said there were drivers who got through only because officers were busy writing tickets.
The practice is responsible for about one quarter of all crashes in the province, and is the third leading cause of motor vehicle fatalities in B.C. with 94 deaths, according to ICBC.
Only speed with 129 deaths, and impaired driving, with 113 deaths, are greater.
An average 14 people in the North Central region die each year in crashes related to distracted driving and between 2007 and 2011, there were six such deaths in Prince George.
Drivers are four times as likely to crash when talking on a hand-held phone while driving and are 23 times more likely to get into a collision when texting while driving.
"Officers will continue to target those persons that choose to use cell phones while driving" said Cst. Wayne Connell of the Prince George RCMP municipal traffic services section. "The risk to themselves and the motoring public is too great to ignore."
