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QUINCY, IL. -- With the rush of the last big holiday of the summer approaching, law enforcement agencies in the tri-states want to remind drivers about the dangers of distracted driving.

What many people don't realize is that distracted driving is anything that takes your eyes off the road.

That can include bending down to pick up something that drops on the car floor, reading and even taking your eyes off the road to talk to someone sitting next to you.

But these days the biggest form of distracted driving has to do with cell phones and texting while driving.

Sgt Brent Bernhardt with the Missouri State Highway Patrol says, "Recent statistics show that when you are texting and driving you're actually taking your eyes off the road 60% of the time . So only 40% of your time then is spent looking at what you need to be looking at. That's very dangerous."

Once again law enforcement officers urge drivers that need to make a call, send a text or anything else that can take your attention away from driving, to pull over onto the side of the road to do it.