Editorial: Think before you eat and drive

Every day we run the gauntlet.

Crossing the road, swimming in the ocean, digging in the garden.

Mostly, these activities are safe and mundane and we don't give them a second's thought. But occasionally someone will get into real strife at a pedestrian crossing, in a rip at the beach, or flinging about a sharp spade in the midst of a vege patch.

Now there's another item to add to the list of potentially dangerous things we do every day. It seems eating an apple or scoffing a packet of chips while behind the wheel can be more dangerous than using a cellphone.

As we reported yesterday, researchers at the University of Leeds in Britain have discovered reaction times of drivers while eating are up to 44 per cent slower than usual. Having a drink before driving slowed responses by only 22 per cent. An earlier study found reaction times slowed by 12.5 per cent after drinking to the legal limit, and 26.5 per cent while conducting a hands-free phone conversation.

In fact, the Automobile Association reckons eating while driving has caused thousands of dollars of damage and serious injury.

And yet, the global takeaway franchises have made squizillions from their drive-thru services which are obviously built on the convenience of ordering, paying for and eating your meal from the comfort of your car. You can't tell me all of those purchasers park up to eat their feed, and it's not likely an idea as successful as the drive-thru is going to fade away anytime soon.

The problem is, once you start eating behind the wheel you are effectively doing two things at once (three, if you're playing referee for squabbling kids). And the problem with multi-tasking, is that it takes quick reflexes to make the right choice on what to do in a split second.

Do you lean down to try and recover your spilt spirulina shake, or do you let it pour all over the upholstery until you can safely pull over? The latter, of course, but it's like refusing to read a text that beeps on your phone while you're driving - it takes willpower.

How hard is it to stop from checking your top for a kebab spillage, checking the mirror to see if your lipstick has smudged after scoffing that peach, reaching over to grab some Burger Rings from the packet on the passenger seat? For this very reason - that it's too hard to stop your eye from wandering off the road when you're distracted - using a handheld cellphone while driving is now against the law. So should we be considering banning eating behind the wheel too?

No. The answer is to upskill New Zealand drivers, and the tougher driver licensing regime is undoubtedly the first step. We need to set high expectations for ourselves and others, practise safe driving no matter what distractions are around us, and keep in mind the dangers of driving while ripping into that stash of Burger Rings, that unctuous kebab, that potentially dangerous spirulina shake.