Police in Saint John will be conducting a distracted driving campaign this week from June 12 to 16.

Police say officers will be targeting drivers who are distracted by secondary activities such as eating, talking to passengers or talking or texting on electronic devices such as smart phones.

Under the law, you cannot make or take phone calls unless they are hands-free.

A driver convicted of distracted driving will face double the minimum fine of $172.50 and would lose five points from their licence.

According to data from Transport Canada, distracted driving contributed to an estimated 21 percent of fatal collisions and 27 percent of serious injury collisions in 2016.

The federal department says these statistics are part of an upward trend of distracted driving-related collisions from a decade earlier.