Eating While Driving
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stanmann571 wrote: »Ironandwine69 wrote: »SuzySunshine99 wrote: »My opinion: Anything that takes your hands off the wheel and your eyes off the road is dangerous. I don't buy the argument that you don't have time to eat unless it's in the car.
What's your opinion?
I drive one-handed constantly while not doing anything except listening to the radio. So what.Honestly, I find driving my niece and nephew around FAR more distracting than having some dry cereal or a small sandwich in the car.
OMG, True story. Kids are the worst distraction.
They should make having kids in the car illegal!
Then what would cab drivers do?
True.0 -
That's very true.
But the numbers of people who are actually very good at multi-tasking are few and far between.
Fighter pilots and F1 drivers are good examples.
Most people actually flit from one task to another in a serial fashion, some very effectively, some not so good.
The people who struggle with bubble gum and walking are still driving 2 ton lumps of metal at speed while trying to get the wrapper off their next stick of gum.
It's compounded by (from personal experience) people tending to vastly over-estimate their driving ability.
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I think the scariest thing I've seen driving was a woman holding a cell phone with one hand and gesturing with the other.0
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I think the scariest thing I've seen driving was a woman holding a cell phone with one hand and gesturing with the other.
Can beat that. Concrete truck making a left turn a a major intersection. Driver had phone in left hand could hear the truck shifting. It may have had an automatic transmission, but who knows?
Also driving on the rural interstate, left lane. Traffic stopped for construction, see someone coming in hot in my mirror. I can see them on the phone, they take the shoulder and end up stopping so I can look eye to eye with the driver.
Believe me they got a single finger salute.1 -
Everyone should minimize the amount of distractions.
I highly recommend drivers attend a professional defensive driving school - not only do these teach life saving techniques you can typically get a tremendous insurance discount. I went through the SCOTTI school years ago and got a 25% reduction in rate. Driven thousands of miles and avoided multiple accidents - never being involved in one.2 -
Anything that causes a distraction to the driver should be kept to a minimum. Of course there are times it is difficult, but we need to consider this.
A car is a weapon and can and does kill.
We should always keep this at the front of our mind when get behind the wheel of a car.
It's your choice, but take a minute to look at this photo This is the roadside memorial when my beautiful 19 year old daughter Hannah died.
Yes the driver was on a mobile phone, but ANY distraction is still a distraction.
I don't want anyone to ever know what that "Death knock' is like, or ever have to buy you a coffin, because you had to hold a Big Mac in one hand and your cell phone in the other, all the while negotiating traffic.
God bless1 -
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SuzySunshine99 wrote: »I occasionally see posts asking for advice on what's good to eat while driving.
Do you think eating while driving is okay? Do you do it? Why or why not? Have you ever been in/almost been in an accident because of it?
My opinion: Anything that takes your hands off the wheel and your eyes off the road is dangerous. I don't buy the argument that you don't have time to eat unless it's in the car.
I was involved in an accident due to the other driver eating while he was driving. He had dropped his food and got flustered.
My husband suffered permanent injuries from being hit by a distracted driver while riding his bike. The woman was texting at the time.
What's your opinion?
In my real life circle-my kids piano teacher's husband was hit and killed on his bike, by a distracted driver (driver ran a red light). My sister was hit on her bike, while pulling a kid carrier filled with me nieces, also by a distracted driver who ran a light. Thankfully just minor injuries. And a woman from our church was hit and killed while running on a biking lane, by a driver who was texting, (country road with no sidewalk). She had 3 kids, ages 5 and under.
No, I don't eat or text or do anything else that distracts me from driving.0 -
cwolfman13 wrote: »Food is not allowed in the bimmer...
What is "bimmer"?0 -
I have a "no eating in the car" rule. I don't want garbage, food debris, or sticky fingers on anything. Especially when my car was brand new. There are also enough bad drivers out there that I can't afford to be distracted. A meal bar is about as much as I'd risk eating while driving. My coffee travel mug goes with me every morning, but I pretty much only drink when stopped at a light.
I can relate. Mine is new now, so food spills would not be appreciated.0 -
cwolfman13 wrote: »Food is not allowed in the bimmer...
What is "bimmer"?
BMW0 -
I eat in the car occasionally but never something that takes two hands. I also eat very quickly (just in general) so I'm rarely eating for more than a couple of minutes.
If I drop something, oh well so sad. I don't fish after it. At least not until I get to my destination.0 -
Umm mm.
Seems my post has had no effect.
It is more important to not spill coffee on the seats of the new Beamer than understand the message.
So maybe a photo of my daughter grave might do it!!!
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Having worked in sales on the road for the past 35 years, eating and driving has been very much a part of my reality. Generally stuff from fast food restaurants such as rotis, burgers, chicken sandwiches, biscuits/cookies, and pastries, which can be partially unwrapped and held in one hand while driving with the other. Definitely no knife and fork meals, as they take two hands and a whole lot more coordination.
Moving up to supervisor and manager, I no longer do five 8 hour days on the road, so the need for eating while driving out to a single customer is greatly reduced.0 -
I am sorry for those of you who have lost folks to accidents.
I do eat while driving sometimes, i will eat a protein bar or drink from a soda bottle.
Honestly, I don't feel it is distracting at all. Much less than talking to the person in the passenger seat.
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I always find it funny when people feel they drive just fine while eating, texting, talking on the phone or doing whatever, but ask those who are driving behind or beside you, I'm betting that would have a different opinion of how well you are driving.1
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I always find it funny when people feel they drive just fine while eating, texting, talking on the phone or doing whatever, but ask those who are driving behind or beside you, I'm betting that would have a different opinion of how well you are driving.
Yeah, Time Magazine published a survey that said that 98% of people surveyed believed it was dangerous to text while driving....but 75% of them did it anyways...because they believe THEY are good at it, even though others are not.0 -
Depends on what I am eating. Sometimes I will cut up apples and cheese and put it in a baggie so that I have finger food available when I am driving long distance. If I stop to pick something up and it's messy I usually eat really fast and then get back in my car and continue driving. Same goes for hot drinks vs water. If I am drinking something hot, then I wait until I am done before driving. Water can be spilled - no problem, so I will sacrifice it if needed to maintin safety in my car.
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I always figured the threads with people asking what to eat when driving was people on road trips stopping to eat but not wanting to rely on fast food stops
I dont eat while driving. Either my drives are only an hour or so tops or on long drives i factor in rest stops and eat then
I do have drinks in the car, straw bottles and if it ever came to it and i needed both hands in the 30 seconds im taking a sip i would chuck it on the passenger seat0 -
Packerjohn wrote: »Packerjohn wrote: »Driving is a very coordinated effort that requires a great deal of attention and personal responsibility. Accidents can be caused by a wide variety of circumstances - some avoidable and personally responsible (texting, etc) some not (a wasp suddenly lands on your face and startles you - happens to me a lot where I live). Everyone should exercise the utmost caution and responsibility, but it is possible to eat or drink and not be any more "distracted" that someone using a stick shift who has to not only let go of the wheel with one hand, but find the right gear without looking, and while simultaneously working the clutch and the gas pedal - to me that is a lot to do at once, while trying to pay attention to the traffic and road etc. Someone taking a bite of a cereal bar is safer to me
I'm guessing you have never driven a stick shift. If so, you would not mention the idea of being able to get the car in the correct gear without looking as an issue.
I've put about 500,000 miles on 2 cars with stick shifts in the last 16 years. When driving a stick, most people will not be eating, messing with phone, make-up, etc because they have to actually be driving the car. I'd maintain, just on my own experience manual transmissions lead to less distracted driving.
Actually I have had several stick shifts. After 500k miles on 2 cars, I am sure *you* dont ever have to look. But do you think everyone out there driving a stick shift has the experience you do? That person in the lane next to you might have gotten that car that week. Some cars have the gears in different places. Some have reverse on opposite sides. Some have 5 gears, some 6. Not every person you encounter driving a stick shift is going to be as "smooth" as you. And I still maintain that a person driving an automatic with one hand while eating a cereal bar from the other can be "safer" than some people driving a stick shift. Stick shifts require not only both hands but both feet to all coordinate at the same time, all the while dealing with the same traffic circumstances as someone driving an automatic who only requires one hand and one foot. It is inherently more "complex". Yes, people can be very good at it, but especially in the past 10-15 years, it is getting much less common and younger people do not have the same experience you do.
I am not saying driving a stick is a bad/dangerous/thing. The opposite actually - my point was that eating a snack while driving is really not that inherently dangerous - no more so than driving a stick shift. It is perfectly accepted that driving a stick is not "distracting", and I dont think all eating situations are either.
Personal responsibility and common sense are the key. unforunately, there is no common sense portion on the driving exam.
Of course there may be slight learning curve when someone gets a different car, but that is minimal.
Apparently insurance companies don't consider shifting a manual transmission vehicle distracting otherwise they would charge more for than an automatic then the same vehicle with an automatic.
I would say driving a manual actually forces you to be more aware of what you are doing while driving when compared to an auto. They even suggest a standard for those with ADD or ADHD for that reason. the shifting makes you more in tune with the car and driving in general.1 -
I think it's one of those things that we all know is not a great idea, but we still do it ...
Of course the level of safety depends on what the food is. Trying to eat a salad while driving is going to be near impossible, while eating an apple or a small sandwich would be more manageable. Personally, my breakfast is a protein shake which I drink on my morning drive.1
This discussion has been closed.
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