(CENTREVILLE) - April is National Distracted Driving Awareness Month and St. Joseph County Sheriff Mark Lillywhite is urging drivers to ‘silence’ the distraction.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 3,142 people were fatally injured in crashes due to distracted driving in 2020.

Distracted Driving is broken down into three categories. One is Manual: which is anything that causes someone to take their hands off the wheel, like eating, smoking, or reaching for an object. Another is Visual: which is anything that causes someone to take their eyes off the road, like looking at a GPS, checking their hair in the rearview mirror, or looking at kids in the backseat.

The Third is Cognitive: which is anything that causes a driver to take their mind off of the task of driving, such as having a conversation with a passenger, going over a shopping list in your head, or daydreaming.

Lillywhite says to avoid being a distracted driver, you should lead by example. Please refrain from getting on your phone until you are in a safe location, and always give driving your full attention, because all distractions are dangerous.