Law

The Dangers of Eating And Driving 

Distracted driving is one of the leading causes of fatal car accidents in the United States. While most people think distraction only happens during a phone call or texting, there are other dangers as well. Using one hand to eat while driving with the other can seem perfectly fine until, one day, you end up in a hospital bed. 

Eating while driving may seem natural, but that is equally risky as texting while driving. Nowadays, everyone is in a hurry to either get to school, work, or some other place, so much so that they do not even have time to eat. However, arriving late is better than not arriving at all. If you have been injured by someone who was eating while driving, you deserve justice. Click here to learn more

Reasons why eating and driving is dangerous 

  • Driver’s focus is not on the road. 

When you eat while driving, your focus may not essentially be on your food or how it tastes, but you may think about not spilling any on your shirt or the car seat. Things like this can cause cognitive and visual distractions. 

  • To eat food, you must use your hands. 

Regardless of whether you are using one or both of your hands, eating causes manual distraction. In fact, you might need to use both hands at some point to open a packet of sauce or unpack a burger. 

  • Your reaction time will be delayed due to less focus. 

Since your focus will be diverted and your hands will be on other use, your reaction time will be significantly delayed in case of an emergency. For example, the car in front may slam its brakes suddenly, and since your focus was not on the road, you hit the rear end of the car due to your delayed reaction. 

How to prevent distracted driving related to eating in the car 

The primary rule is not to eat while driving, or for that matter, engage in anything else other than driving and focusing on the road. If you always get up late, try to wake up early in the morning and have your meals on time to avoid eating in the car. Next, make it a rule to never eat in the car or only eat after stopping your vehicle on the safe side of the road. 

Time management and creating a healthy schedule can make big changes in your life. Eating food at home not only increases your safety, but lets you have some family time.