By: Taranjit | Last Updated: June 29, 2020
Eating while driving is an innocent thing to partake in, right? How bad can it be?
Well, in the moment it may seem like nothing and it’s not like you are doing something illegal, like driving under the influence or texting and driving, right? Although, eating and driving is not illegal in the states, you could still get a ticket for distracted driving.
We have heard some crazy stories from listeners of our podcast about people eating the most strangest things while driving. For instance, drivers eating cereal and a bowl of soup while on the road. Crazy, right? But did you ever stop to think that some foods could be more dangerous to eat while driving than others? The NHTSA sure did and they came out with a list.
1. Coffee
Think about it. You bring this hot beverage into your car and you go to take a sip and a small amount spills on your lap. You scream in anger or curse because you’re upset, but it doesn’t stop there. You have to look down and see where it spilled. It’s human nature. So now you are looking down (not at the road) and trying to wipe this away. Remembering your eyes are off the road, you constantly glance at the road while using a hand to search for a napkin before patting the spill in between glances to the road. That’s dangerous.
2. Soft Drinks
Being a liquid, there is a chance it might spill and you will have a similar reaction to the spilling of coffee, but, there is one difference. Soft drinks have another component to it: carbonation. And if that goes up your nose by accident, now you are over here sneezing or coughing, and your mind is not 100% on the road (nor your eyes). And boom. Before you know it, fender bender (or worse, but let’s not go there).
3. Jelly/Cream-Filled Doughnuts
The delicious filled doughnut you just grabbed on your way to work wafts into your nose. There is no way you can wait to get into the office to eat it, so you reach over for a doughnut and take a bite, only you squeezed it a little too hard and now the filling has dripped onto your shirt. Oh no!
Naturally, your instinct might be to look down and see where it landed. You have to clean it up before it stains, but you are driving. So what do you do? Briefly take your eyes off the road, reach for a napkin, and start wiping away at the spill. Next thing you know, you are drifting out of your lane into the next. Yikes!
4. Chocolate
A delicious treat indeed, but it has one downside. It melts. It’s been a long day at work and you reach over for a piece of chocolate to help hold you over during your commute. Because it’s so hot outside, the chocolate melts a little in your hands and now your fingers are sticky. You accidently touched your steering wheel with those chocolate covered hands, and you can’t just leave it sticky. So now you are trying to wipe the stickiness off the wheel while dividing your attention between the road and the wheel. Dangerous.
5. Hamburgers
A fully loaded hamburger with lettuce, tomato, onions, pickles, and your favorite sauces is just sitting there on the passenger seat waiting to be eaten. Considering the size of the burger and the wrapping it is in, it may become difficult to eat it while driving, but you are hungry and you can’t wait. So you reach over and grab the burger and try to start unwrapping it with one hand while the other is on the wheel, but you struggling over here, so you quickly remove the other hand to unwrap it real fast and then put your hand back on the wheel. In doing so, you briefly drifted towards the shoulder. Not good.
But you managed to correct yourself and nothing bad happened, so it is fine. No one got hurt, right? So you procced with unwrapping burger (which is huge, so not an easy task to do while driving). Normally you would eat it with two hands, but that isn’t an option in the car. So you lift it with one and try to take a big bit. Only in doing so, the ketchup came out and dripped on your shirt and some of the toppings fell out. As an instinct, you look down real fast to see where everything landed. In that split second that you divert your attention from the road, anything can happen.
6. Fried Chicken
Now being vegetarian, I can’t really talk much about the process of eating this, but I know that it can be greasy and leave remnants on your hands. Similar to chocolate, the greasy left on your hands can lead to a distraction. You might be looking around for a napkin to wipe it off or darn, you got it all over the steering wheel and you must clean it off right now. It all is distracting and takes your mind and eyes off the road, even if just for a little bit.
7. Tacos
Another messy food that, in most cases, needs two hands to eat depending on the type of taco. So that’s already one dangerous thing to do while driving, taking a hand or both off the wheel to eat the taco, and similar to a burger, there is a high chance of things falling out of the taco or the taco falling apart and causing a mess on you or in your car. And the clean freak in you needs to look right now to see where it went. So not only is your mind distracted, your hand is off the wheel, but now you looked away from the road. A recipe for a disaster.
Plus, who eats tacos while driving? That’s a new one.
8. Barbecue
A condiment that can also lead to a mess. Now, I don’t think people eat just barbeque while driving, right? But, it might be on that burger or you might be dipping your fries into it, and as you are bringing that fry to your mouth, out of the corner of your eye you see the barbeque sauce starting to drip. So you turn to look and hurry to stop it from getting all over your car, but now it’s too late because it caused you to look away from the road. Not good.
9. Hot Soups
Another food item that is shocking to see on the list. People eat soup while driving, and that too hot soup? Crazy! I tend to stick to solids (except drinks) while driving, but to each their own. No judgement here. Only questions.
As you can see there is a trend going on here with these foods and you can’t simply enjoy them while behind the wheel without taking some of your attention off the road. But your hungry so you don’t care. You put the soup in between your legs so you can minimize the chances of it dripping (which is dangerous in and of itself), and remove a hand off the wheel to take a spoonful of soup and bring it up to your mouth slowly while trying to keep your eyes on the road. The car in front of you suddenly stops causing you to slam on your brakes, and there goes the soup all over you. Just great!
You can’t just let it sit there and soak into your seat or your clothes. No. You can’t let it stain. And now look who’s eyes are no longer on the road. Yours. Dangerous.
10. Chili
Chili falls into a similar category as soups and the sauces because of the chances of it dripping or spilling. Again, this wouldn’t be my first choice of food to eat while driving or my 20th, but again no judgement and kudos to you for being confident in your ability to eat it while driving.
But even if you do feel confident doing it, doesn’t mean you should. I think you got the idea of what kinds of distractions this can present, so I won’t bore you with another scenario, but it can be distracting.
Final Thoughts:
I am sure there are many other foods that could be consider more dangerous to eat while driving, but safety should be your number one priority when you take the wheel, and if the hunger is too much for you to bear, pull over and eat. Just don’t it while driving. We already have too many people out there that are driving distracted, we don’t need another.
Comment below what foods should be on this list and whether you attempted to eat any of these dangerous items while driving. I am curious to hear your stories.
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