February is Distracted Driving Awareness Month and Cochrane RCMP will have their eyes on you.

RCMP will focus their attention on drivers who are not paying attention behind the wheel and whose eyes are not on the road.

Constable Kary Moore with the Cochrane RCMP states despite plenty of media and education about the dangers of distracted driving, some still don't know what it means. "It can be holding, viewing or manipulating a cell phone or any other communication device like a GPS, reading, writing, printing, sketching, personal grooming or hygiene like applying makeup or shaving. Anything that distracts you from your focus on driving."

Unfortunately, distracted driving infractions only continue to climb with Alberta wide RCMP Integrated Traffic Units issuing 7611 tickets in 2017, and 147 already in 2018.

Moore shares there is still the misnomer that if your cell phone is not at your ear, you are not distracted. Thinking they are okay to hold their phone on speaker is still against the law. "You can't have it in your hand and be holding or manipulating it. The best action to take would be to have a blue tooth or some sort of completely hands-free system if you must talk on the phone."

Watching tv while driving down the highway, passing things off to children in a vehicle or even animals in your lap can constitute distracted driving.

RCMP are always on the lookout for distracted drivers but drivers will see a heightened presence throughout the month. If you are caught you are in contradiction of 115 of the Traffic Safety Act, says Moore and a $287 fine and three demerits is what you could face if convicted.

The distracted driving legislation was brought into effect on September 1, 2011, and as of March 31, 2017, there were 139, 579 convictions in Alberta.