It’s a fair bet that every drive has eaten at wheel once. All of us do this but now in many countries this is to be forbidden by law, as even a slight distraction on the road can lead to very serious consequences.

Distractions on the Road

One of the most frequent factors of road accidents are driving distractions. These are caused by drivers who consider having a smoke and a bite whilst driving quite normal. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says that 25 percent of all crashes on the US roads are caused by motorists losing concentration at the wheel. Young drivers under the age of 20 are the most frequent participants of such accidents. Driving distractions usually lead to slow driver’s reaction, they prevent motorists from processing information.

Smoking at the Wheel

Nowadays in many countries it is forbidden to smoke in public places and working areas. This law automatically implies that it is illegal to smoke whilst driving either. It will also be forbidden to smoke in taxes and other private hired vehicles both for drivers and passengers. This also means that drivers will not be allowed to smoke in taxes even if there are no passengers in the car.

All such vehicles are to be provided with a no smoking sign ? international “No Smoking” symbol.

Nowadays the in-car smoking leads to penalties of�60 in Scotland. Lighting up at the wheel is categorically forbidden in Germany and Brazil ? they do all possible to remove at-wheel smoking at all.

According to the research results published in one of the German newspaper that a car driving 50 km per hour will move 15 minutes per second while the motorist looks around for a dropped cigarette. This proves a potential of an accident as the driver for a few moments takes his eyes off the road and consequently loses concentration.

Researches carried out in Spain show that smokers are twice more likely to get into road accidents that the non-smoking drivers.

Eating and Drinking at the Wheel

As it was proved by numerous studies eating and drinking at the wheel influences the focus of 2 percent of drivers involved in accidents on roads. It is also interesting to know that mobile phones which are considered to be the main distraction for drivers affect the focus percent with only 1,5  of motorists. Operating the CD player when driving is also considered to be dangerous.

Fizzy drinks are the most dangerous as they can greatly affect your focus and attention when spill.

It is not recommended to eat greasy foods when driving, as it is very difficult to hold the wheel with sticky hands. The experts say that it takes too much time to wipe the hand and prevents to concentrate on the road ahead.

Coffee is also out. In general any drink without a lid can cause serious road accidents especially in the event of a sudden bump.

To Make Driving Safe

*    Remove the cigarettes, ashtray and lighter out of your vehicle ? this will prevent you from smoking at the wheel.

*    Before to hit the road have a bite in order not to be tempted to eat a sandwich while driving.

Keep in mind: if you combine eating and smoking with driving a car, be sure that once you’ll get into road accident. So be wise and make driving safe for yourself and other drivers.

Roy Murray