Modern life can be hectic, and sitting down to eat three good meals a day is not that easy anymore. Hence, a lot of people eat some of their meals on the go.
A commuter might take breakfast with them in the car, and someone whose job involves driving might eat lunch at the wheel. While doing so can save time, it’s crucial to realize it comes with serious problems in addition to the obvious health issues that failing to eat properly can cause. Here are some reasons you should consider reducing the instances in which you eat or drink while driving:
Food and drink distract you from driving
Cars are designed to be operated with two hands. While you need to take a hand off the wheel at times to operate the vehicle, you are much safer when both hands are on the wheel, and you cannot do that if you are using one (or both) of them to eat or drink.
It’s not only the physical distraction you need to consider
It’s pretty hard to eat or drink without removing your eyes from the road. That limits your ability to spot things going on around you such as another driver braking or a pedestrian stepping out into the street. Even if you do see these things, your brain will be distracted as you rummage around blindly for the snack from your bag. So your reaction time may be too slow to avoid an accident.
If another driver injures you in a crash, it’s important to examine every possible factor that might have contributed to the incident. Empty food wrappers or cups could be a sign the driver was distracted.