Eating may be top driving distraction
By: Jack Nerad for Driving Today
Date: 2004-08-15
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They may not think it's safe, but most drivers responding to a new poll admit to keeping one eye and one hand on a meal while driving. Eating a meal turned out to be the most-common distracting activity drivers undertake. In fact, 65 percent of drivers stated they eat while driving, according to a PEMCO Insurance poll on driver distraction.
While eating took the top spot on the survey, 58 percent of drivers acknowledged they talk on a cell phone while driving. Drivers also thought both eating and cell phone use while driving were unsafe, along with several other common driving distractions. The poll of 600 Washington residents also asked drivers to rate the danger of several common distracted driving activities. Each activity was rated on a scale from one to five, with one being "completely safe" and five being "very dangerous."
While 65 percent of respondents admitted to eating a meal while driving, that activity received a "danger rating" of 3.8 on the five-point scale. Talking on a cell phone was regarded as a 4.0 in danger, while reading a newspaper or book, something only six percent of drivers admit to, got the top danger rating of 4.9. Writing a text message (4.8), applying makeup or shaving (4.6) and the ever-popular steering with legs and no hands on wheel (4.7) also recorded serious danger rankings from the respondents. Some 25 percent of all drivers say they have steered with no hands at some time in their driving lives, while 14 percent say they have applied makeup or shaved.
"We found that when drivers eat food or call a friend, they do so despite thinking it's dangerous," said Jon Osterberg, PEMCO Insurance spokesperson. "Our goal is to help drivers understand that when they do that, they're going against their better judgment."
The poll showed a significant trend: the more drivers admitted to performing a distracting activity, the less dangerous they saw that activity.
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