Is It Illegal To Do This While Driving In New York?
You might want to reconsider opening up that burger or dunking your chicken nugget in BBQ sauce while you drive.
Officials with New York State are warning people to put down their burgers and other food when they are driving.
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Drivers are three times more likely to be in an accident when they are eating and driving.
A recent study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) found that eating or drinking while behind the wheel increases your risk of an accident by more than 80%
Eating while driving can lead to the driver being distracted and that could lead to an accident and/or a ticket.
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While there are no laws on the books about eating and driving, you could still get a ticket if police pull you over for distracted driving. Distracted driving is defined as any activity that takes a person’s attention away from the primary task of driving which includes eating.
So if you were trying to unwrap your burger and get into an accident or swerve, you could get ticketed for distracted driving
Check out the Top 10 Most Dangerous Things to Eat or Drink while Driving according to the website tkinjurylawyers.com
- Coffee – Coffee is the most dangerous food item to have in your car while driving! Because coffee is so readily available and so popular, it is widely used. Piping hot coffee in the car is just a bad idea.
- Soups – Just like hot coffee, eating hot soup is never a good idea while driving. Now that companies are making soups available in to-go cups and bowls, hot spills and burns are a lot more likely.
- Tacos – Fast food restaurants like Taco Bell make it easy to grab a taco on the go, but this tasty food generally requires 2 hands to eat. A spilled taco can create a mess on your lap and distract you while driving.
- Chili – Anything containing chili, like a chili dog or sloppy joe, can be quite dangerous and distracting. Any food that is sloppy and hot should be kept out of the car.
- Hamburgers – If it can drip, it can make a mess in your car. As one of the most frequently consumed items in vehicles, hamburgers are extremely easy to obtain and even easier to drop.
- BBQ – As tempting as it is, try to refrain from eating Franklin Barbeque while driving home. Getting barbecue sauce all over your clothes and a nice leather car seat will surely lead to distracted driving.
- Fried Chicken – Fried chicken is delicious, but better enjoyed at home. Fried chicken is greasy and that grease can easily get all over your hands and your steering wheel. Reaching for napkins takes your hands off the wheel and your attention away from the road.
- Jelly/Cream-filled Donuts – As a breakfast staple, the donut often finds itself being consumed in your car. However, once that Boston creme or jelly filling oozes out and gets all over your car that tasty donut can become a distraction.
- Soft Drinks – Spilling a drink, having a can or bottle fall out of the cup holder, and even the act of taking a sip can all lead to increased driver distractions. That Big Gulp isn’t so refreshing when you spill 92oz all over your lap.
- Chocolate – Chocolate is messy. It’s not really something you can spill, it isn’t extremely hot, and it if you drop your candy bar, no big deal. But when it gets all over the fingers and hands, the distraction can get dangerous.
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