If you were recently busted by local Mounties for using a cellphone behind the wheel, you wouldn't be alone.

According to Coquitlam RCMP, the force handed out 262 distracted driving tickets in the month of September during a recent distracted driving enforcement campaign.

Police spent the month setting up checkpoints in high crash locations throughout Coquitlam and Port Coquitlam to nab drivers.

The drivers were given fines for either using their phone or texting. The fine for getting caught using the banned electronics is $167.

RCMP Cpl. Jamie Chung said the numbers from the recent blitz mirror those of past campaigns.

"With 262 people being charged with these types of offences, a lot of people out there still haven't got the message," he said, adding he often still sees people talking on the phone behind the wheel.

However, Chung suggested the campaigns do help in that they create awareness for drivers, even though it takes time to change habits.

He pointed out the number of people wearing seatbelts has risen dramatically over the years, in part due to enforcement and awareness.

Despite the end of the campaign, local Mounties pledge to keep looking out for distracted drivers on Tri-Cities roads.

In the first four months of 2012, Coquitlam RCMP handed out 660 distracted driving tickets. Earlier this year, the province noted fatalities due to distracted driving dropped by 12 per cent between Feb. 1, 2010 and July 31, 2011.

jdeutsch@thenownews.com