We all have eaten while driving before. And of course we understand when we’re hungry we just go and grab some fast food somewhere, and because we’re hungry we can’t just wait to get home and start eating in the car.
Some people think there’s no problem eating behind the wheel. It’s not illegal and the truth is that it’s one of the mist common things drivers do. According to Autoinsurance.org 70% of people admitted to eating while driving. Yet you might not have any idea what kind of danger you’re putting yourself and others in when you take a bite of a burger behind the wheel.
Eating while driving presents a big risk for drivers. A study by Britain’s Brunel University shows that eating behind the wheel significantly increases your risk of being involved in a car accident. Although it doesn’t increase your risk quite as much as texting, a comprehensive study published in ”the Journal of Traffic Injury” found the effects of eating while driving behind the wheel impaired drivers almost as severely as texting while driving does.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police reports that this is because, like texting, eating while driving distracts your attention from the road. Even a few seconds being distracted from what’s going on can have a huge impact behind the wheel.
In 80% of crashes, the driver looked away from the road 3 seconds before the accident. According to Driversed.com, eating while driving seriously reduces your ability to react. That’s why there’s been a recent push to criminalize eating while driving eating while driving in certain states or punish those caught eating under distracted driving laws.
So next time you stop to get some food on your way home, resist that urge to munch on the drive back to your house. It might save your life.
Article from Dailymail