Should it be illegal to eat when driving? Do you eat when driving?

mamgu.......

I think this is a tricky issue, police state that you cannot control the car with one hand while eating, well i drive with one hand and the other tucked behind my back, I am a disabled person, I control my car as good as anybody else, yes i have the steering aid on the wheel but still it proves the car can be conrolled with one hand, so if the issue is two hands must be on the wheel like they say how do people change gear? The driver who crashed through the barrier while eating a sandwich, would have crashed for other reasons other than eating a sandwich as again the wheel of a lorry has the same driving aid on it as I have on my car so the driver must have been distracted for another reason.Lorries are driven with one hand most of the time. Its just another excuse to get us to pay more fines.

todvango

I do eat sometimes while driving.

Distracted drivers are the leading cause of accidents seconded only by alcohol related crashes. So you might be onto something with eating while driving... BUT

Let me ask you this... Is eating or drinking as distracing as cell phones? Is a cell phone all that more distracting than a CB Radio? How about conversations with other passengers? Adjusting your Radio/GPS/Air Conditioning? How about fooling around with a blackberry or PDA? Really THINK about that for a minute. Good grief, I have seen people trying to read a map while barreling down the expressway! Truth is, all of these things contain some element of risky behavior, but do we need more laws?

Let's take a look at the cell phone debate...

Would it be fair to say that at least 1 in 5 drivers talk on a cell phone while driving nowadays? Are there a lot of poor drivers on the road? Is it safe to say that 1 in 5 poor drivers talk on a cell phone while driving? (Do you see where I am going with this?) People see poor driving, then people see the poor driver with cell phone, so they conclude that the poor driving the fault of the phone. It's the same way with accidents when the poor driver was talking on the phone. It's really not the phone's fault anymore than the salami's sandwich's fault that the driver is a doofus!

My state has no laws banning cell phone usage or eating while driving and that will probably change someday soon. However, no amount of laws are going to remove all of the distractions that drivers face or remove "bad drivers" from the highway. To be a good driver, you have to put the priority of the road ahead of everything else. Is it possible eat a sandwich, talk on a phone, to a passenger, or to ONSTAR, while driving safely? I would actually say yes for most people. For those that can't handle it, then they need to be smart enough to limit thier own distractions without us having to pass a law about it that restricts the rest of us. If they aren't smart enough, do you really think another safety law on the books is going to make any difference?

bernman101

I eat on occasion while driving. I drink soda more often when I drive then eat. I also sing to the radio or CD player.....pretty soon they will ban listening to the radio while driving....

markhatter

I sometimes eat a plate full of curry with popadums on the side

is that bad?

Barbara Doll to you

The biggest cause of problems is lack of due care and attention. Some people just wander off into their own little world without any distractions such as eating.

People who crash repeatedly for this reason should be kept of the road. Less crashers on the road.

crapsake

We should all stick to the matter in hand....and that is to purely drive, and nothing else. No extra activity should be indulged in whilst driving. We should be concentrating on what is happening on the road!!!!!

ireland01

no. and yes.

Lisa

it is illegal to eat or drink whilst driving in the UK
You get a fixed penalty notice

tunisianboy46

It is illegal and I have seen a lot of fixed penalty notices being handed out for exactly this reason. The part of the Road Traffic Act that the police can use is "Not having proper control of a motor vehicle". This can also apply if you take a swig from a bottle or can.

If someone crashes a vehicle due to eating or drinking they can face the charge of "Driving without due care and attention". Also there is the charges of "Dangerous driving" and "Careless driving". Depending on what else has happened the "Death by" Part can be added to either careless/dangerous driving.

The said act does not specifically say that 2 hands must be on the steering wheel as there are converted vehicles for the disabled driver solely designed to be driven one handed.
Also it would be impossible to drive a manual gear change car without breaking the law when a driver has to let go momentarily of the steering wheel in order to change gears.

--Lost in this world--

I don't eat while driving. It's a ridiculous thing to do. It's not as if you are enjoying what you are eating while driving.

Eat before you drive and eat after, no need to eat while driving.

pilot

In most U. S. States it is called "Driving while distracted" and it is illegal. Other things that fall into the distracted category is, taking a drink, putting on makeup, changing the radio station, combing your hair, arranging things in the back seat, talking on a cell phone, reading a map etc.

Ray B

I would think it would depend on the ability of the driver, and what he/she was eating. I doubt a pizza would be a very smart choice, but a sandwich? No, I don't think that should be illegal. Have I ever eaten in a vehicle? Yes, many times, but in my profession, <grin>, I have to eat while in the vehicle.

Just Me

YES it should .The only thing you should be doing is driving the car. That requires your full attention.Anything else can wait until you find a safe place to stop.

Without-style

Did someone also die in that crash? I might be confusing it with another.

It should be illegal for anything that takes away a hand and concentration consistently from the wheel, but what is the point? It targets people that simply don't care I see far too many drivers still using their mobile phones.

iamacarguyru

When you think about, it the most dangerous thing you ever do, you do as a normal event. YOU DRIVE A CAR. You do it while eating, drinking and talking on the cell phone. You even have heated discussions with friends and family. All of those things take away the attention you are giving to the potentially fatal task at hand. Eat at home. Talk on the phone at work and by all means do not drink on the road.

bostonianinmo

It IS illegal to eat whilst driving in the UK.

I don't eat, though I do often have a drink in the cupholder and take an occasional swig.

WelshLad

I eat and drink - but only on a straights road, when approaching a roundabout or traffic lights I put them down

If it's illegal then what about smoking whilst driving? I'm sure that's just as dangerous.

hamster

its illegal already anything that distracts your attention while driving in the UK. eating drinking using phone etc. makes you think what about passengers their a distraction are we soon gona travel alone.

marina_breeze

Eating while driving, and drinking while driving are two different things.

I have done both, but I am more likely to drink than eat. If I eat and drive, it's something small, easy to handle, etc., and I'm eating because I don't have time to sit down and eat - I have somewhere to be. But that's pretty rare for me. I'm more likely to drink water or coffee when driving, especially when going long distances.

Outlawing eating is fine, I think, because for the most part, it's better to eat at rest than when you're driving. It usually takes more concentration to eat, and to be honest, it's distracting if you spill stuff all over your car. I guess similar things can happen when you're drinking, although such events are less likely if your car is equipped with cupholders (common in the US).

However, I usually drink coffee when driving to stay awake. Even when I have sufficient rest before a long trip, the monotonous routine of driving on the open road for hours on end is enough for just about anyone to start nodding off. If I am driving by myself, I need to have my coffee. A driver who is drinking coffee periodically is safer than one who is asleep at the wheel.

Robbo31

Good question Emma...

To me the obvious answer is no it is not safe to do anything which either distracts you from driving - and in particular if it involves taking your hands of the wheel.

I was pleased to see the legislation come in regarding using a mobile whilst driving [although how many people do you see still doing this].....but it would be impossible to stop people from eating...

I guess as per usual we are all dependent on common sense from the population....is this hoping for too much?! Whilst seeming at times like a Big Brother state...rules are made for a reason and when it comes to the road, where 1000s are killed each year, then I think people are extremely foolish to ignore them. And apart from anything else it endangers other people not just yourself, both in other cars and indeed your own....which really is a trsuted responsibility.

musonic

I came across an Irish driver, who had cooked bacon & eggs on a frying pan between Stranraer and the English Border at 3am.

I guess it was illegal, but he didn't care about that.

emaf1uk

I do eat in my car and drink. I can totally see why it would be and is dangerous. I see people trying to open a sandwich packet and they are swerving all over the road. I do eat crisps and things in the car but more often I drink. I have eaten sandwiches in the car, not saying it's the right thing to do but before I set off I open the packet and take it out, so all I need to do is pick it up.

I smoke in my car. I think this is more dangerous than eating by far! I only now light up when I've stopped or am going very slow. It's really dangerous as I've often been looking at my cig to see if I'm holding the flame against it, look up and I'm not where I started on the road. It's not illegal to smoke in the car though is it!

AND the amount of police I've seen eating something whilst driving is amazing!

It really doesn't affect my driving and if I do need to change gear then I put whatever I'm eating down - like a sandwich etc. However if it's a pack of crisps they just stay on my passenger seat, so no prob. Eating and drinking does not make me a bad driver or less aware or any of that but smoking does and I'm a smoker!

david B

no it shouldnt and yes i do. It doesnt really affect my driving. And that would cripple the fast food industry. Besides if you do that then u have to illegalize smoking and changing the radio and adjusting you mirrors... these are all just as big distractions as eating or drinking.

Martin14th

It already is illegal to eat or drink when driving.

Yes I do both on occasion, and yes I consider myself to be safe, to me it's no worse than smoking when driving.

Fordman

Yeah, they probably should make it illegal. Worse than that, in my opinion, is the stupid cell phone. I've had more people pull out in front of me while they are on the cell phone than by people eating a sandwich.

Both are bad, but the cell phone is worse.

byderule

dont know about ilegal but it is definately unsafe as well as piggish
eating should be apreciated and at rest ,not whilst you are driving ,shows no class.

jane H

Yes i think it should, a good friend of mine suffered severe whiplash after a car rammed into her on the motorway whilst eating. Good interms of the insurance company as he admitted liablity straightaway. It should be as with mobiles you should pull over and eat the food or stop at services etc, it's just as distracting as using a phone. Another pet hate of mine is when i pass a lorry to see the driver reading his/her map on the steering wheel, extremely dangerous!! :-(

suziejoy

no its not safe to drink and drive and it should be true of eating and using mobile take a proper break

Unazaki

It should be illegal. I don't eat or drink. I drink at headlight stops.

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