A recent study from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found distracted driving was a cause of 80 percent of all car accidents and 65 percent of near-misses.
Food was one of the biggest distractions drivers face, making drivers more than 50 percent more likely to have an accident.
Food poses distracted dangers
The study found that eating distractions limit a driver’s ability to react quickly to a sharp curve. Distraction was also most likely to be involved in single-vehicle crashes and rear-end collisions in which the lead vehicle was stopped.
A staggering 65 percent of drivers admitted to eating while driving, according to a PEMCO insurance poll on driver distraction. Another 58 percent of drivers talk on the phone while operating a vehicle.
Most dangerous distraction
Researchers believe that coffee is the worst food-related distraction to drivers, citing the ease at which the lid can pop off as the main problem. Causing just one accident can cause a driver’s car insurance rates to increase up to 25 percent.
Another danger food for drivers to consume is chocolate. When eating this food people are apt to get candy stains on their steering wheel or stick shift. Researchers believe drivers instinctively want to clean these stains off, possibly causing them to take their eyes off of the road.
Any foods that are greasy or can drip are also believed to present a greater danger, the news site reports. Slippery hands and potential clothing stains can pose an additional distraction. However, next to coffee, experts have found that hot soup is the most dangerous food to consume while driving. It is as unstable as coffee and also poses a burn risk when spilled.
Other forms of distraction
The NHTSA found that reaching for a moving object poses the most dangerous situation for drivers, increasing crash risk by more than eight times. Cell phone use is becoming more of a problem as an increased number of people are texting while driving leading to higher auto insurance quotes. More complex tasks have proven to be more detrimental to driving performance. In-vehicle and portable entertainment systems can be somewhat complex and therefore make them dangerous to drivers.
In an effort to combat the growing number of driving distractions, the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers formed a group to develop a set of guidelines for devices designed to minimize distractions, the NHTSA reports.