This Tasty Distraction Should Not Be Eaten While Driving

Who doesn’t love a big, heaping scoop of ice cream on a warm spring day?  It’s hard to resist a trip to Ashley’s or any other local ice cream shop that scoops up pure perfection on a cone.  The only thing about ice cream is that, especially when it’s not super hot outside many people like to order it and then drive home with the cone dripping down their fingers and getting the steering wheel sticky.  Talk about a distraction that could lead to getting you into a New Haven auto accident.

Ice cream is not the only food that can be a distraction when you’re driving.  In fact, all food can be a distraction and you should avoid eating while driving at all costs.  While it may not always be avoidable as you are busy and there is a reason they have drive throughs at a lot of your favorite fast food restaurants, you should not drive and eat or it may lead to putting yourself or your passengers into a precarious situation.

Instead, you should get your food from the drive through, hand it out, while parked, to your passengers and then wait to eat your food until you come to your destination or a rest area where you can pull over to stop.  It may not seem that food is terribly distracting when you’re driving because you may feel like you can do more then one thing at a time and do them both well, but you would be surprised, if a drop of ice cream gets on your shirt or a fry falls between the cracks of your vehicle you may have a quick reaction that you weren’t anticipating and that could take your eyes off the road for a split second that could lead to just a long enough distraction that could make you lose control of your vehicle.

If you absolutely have to eat your food while you’re on the road, you should “prepare it” before you put your car in drive.  Get napkins out to keep your clothes free of food debris, open any packages that require opening, and make sure that you have enough napkins nearby so you do not need to go searching for them during the time that you are driving.

April is National Distracted Driving Awareness Month and because of that we are highlighting some of the lesser known distractions that are common in New Haven auto accidents.  One of those distractions is eating while driving and if you are doing this you need to know that it could put you and your passengers in a dangerous position and cause you to get injured.  There are common distractions that many of us know about, the most common of which is your cellphone, but there are other distractions that can be just as harmful and food is one of them.

If you do find yourself injured in an accident and you need to speak with an attorney to review your case, contact our office and one of our experienced attorneys will speak with you.  We will work with you to protect your long-term interests.