State transportation officials say 36 people died and more than 8,000 were involved in accidents as the result of distracted driving last year.

April is national Distracted Driving Awareness Month and Arizona Department of Transportation officials are sending a message to drivers: Just drive.

ADOT director John Halikowski is asking drivers to bring down the number of fatalities by focusing on the road and eliminating distractions like eating, using a phone or looking in the back seat.

Preliminary data collected by ADOT shows that drivers between the ages 16 and 24 accounted for a third of all distracted driving that caused an accident.