Eating while driving can be as dangerous as texting: ICBC
Posted Oct 14, 2011 02:49:13 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – We know electronic distractions can be fatal on our roadways, but what about eating behind the wheel? A Chicago suburb is considering a snacking ban – and ICBC says it has good reason to.
ICBC Road Safety delivery manager Jill Blacklock recommends you don’t eat on the road.
“Anything other than your full attention being on the road is a distraction,” she says. “So whether it is a pet on your lap or food in your hand, if you are not paying attention to the road it is causing a danger. It takes a hand off the wheel and attention away from what you should be doing.”
A US study finds coffee is the number one most dangerous food to have in your car because the lid can come off, burn you, and that can take your eyes off the road.
It’s been said that if you take your eyes off the road for just two seconds, your car can travel almost 30 metres as you glance away.
Allan Lamb with BCAA says the potential driving-and-snacking ban in Chicago is a good reminder for British Columbians.
“While I do not anticipate this province or this government to bring in ‘anti-eating laws’ it is certainly is an example of a way to be distracted,” he says.
