The Ontario Provincial Police says its distracted driving campaign has ended in 60 charges in Essex County.
The campaign, held between March 14 and 20, targeted drivers across the province. Across the western region, police laid 583 charges and 2,593 province-wide.
OPP Sergeant Dave Rektor says the numbers are going up, not down with 387 charges laid in last year's campaign. The police service also says the results of the campaign confirm the use of mobile devices while driving remains a major threat on the roads.
Rektor says some drivers have become sneaky about their cell phone use while driving by placing the phone in their lap and dimming the light, but he says it's not working. "Let's face it. If somebody's sitting at an intersection staring down at their lap, everybody knows what they're doing." He says those measures aimed at evading police create an even bigger distraction.
Essex County OPP also laid six careless driving charges related to distracted driving.