Put down the phone or pay up.

That’s the message from the B.C. government as new tougher distracted driving penalties took effect Wednesday.

Starting today, offenders will be hit with a base $368 fine, more than double from the previous $167 ticket, which was one of the lowest in Canada.

Distracted drivers will now also be dinged with four penalty points, which is all it takes to incur an additional $175 insurance premium.

And the penalties only get worse for repeat offenders. Anyone caught driving distracted a second time within 12 months will face $888 in financial penalties, then $1,600 for a third.

Distracted driving, which encompasses much more than just texting or talking on a cell phone, is also being changed to a high-risk driving offence, like excessive speeding. That means drivers in the graduated licensing program or repeat offenders – such as the Richmond woman who racked up 14 tickets for distraction in just five years – can be taken off the road more easily.

Vancouver police say they're not conducting any specific enforcement blitzes connected to the rollout.

Const. Brian Montague said during its high-risk driving month the force wrote about 2,400 tickets for aggressive driving behaviours, including about 500 for drivers using their cell phone behind the wheel.

The West Vancouver Police tweeted that it took one of its officers only three minutes out of headquarters to see someone breaking the rules.

Accused by a Twitter user of being overly excited about the ticketing, the force said it was just expressing surprise and disappointment that distracted drivers can be found so quickly, even with the new fines in place.

According to the Insurance Corporation of B.C., distraction now kills and injures more people annually than impaired driving.

In 2014, the last year with available statistics, the bad habit was blamed for 630 serious injuries and 66 deaths.