Should eating on the road be illegal?
While speeding, texting, and drink driving are the activities most commonly targeted by authorities seeking to change motorists’ behaviour and to reduce the road toll, they are certainly not the only ones.
Of course for grey nomads, the big concern is that some may spend too long behind the wheel on those endless Outback drives and thus be too exhausted to be safe. But what about eating?
How many caravanners or motorhomers desperate to reach that camping site before dusk are tempted to eat a sandwich or an apple on the road rather than spend time stopping for a picnic?
Well, according to a 2015 research paper by the Griffith Health Institute in Queensland, eating while driving is just as dangerous as texting while driving.
“The results basically indicate that the trials involving texting or eating when driving both caused about the same amount of decrement to driving performance”, Griffith Health Institute lead researcher on the project Dr Chris Irwin told SBS.
In terms of the law though, there are not currently any laws in any state or territory that specifically prohibits eating food or drinking (non-alcoholic) beverages while driving. However, under the Australian Road Rules 297(1), it states that “a driver must not drive a vehicle unless the driver has proper control of the vehicle”.
According to an NRMA blog:
“These types of offences are assessed on a case by case basis, including whether an incident occurred and are subject to a $433 fine and three demerit points [in NSW]. In school zones, the penalty increases to $541 with 4 demerit points.”
A report in Lifehacker Australia says this means that eating and driving may be considered a cause of distraction when incidents are investigated. If the police decide your mobile picnic is causing you to drive erratically they are allowed to fine you – even if no specific road rules have been broken.
The bottom line is that while eating while you drive isn’t explicitly illegal, it has the capability to compromise your ability to have full control of your vehicle, particularly as it means driving with one hand off the wheel.
The reference to no alcoholic drinks while driving is wrong (at least in SA and I presume everywhere. There is no law against drinking alcohol while driving. The law only kicks in when your blood alcohol goes above .05. I am not trying to get into a debate about if it is a good idea or not just correcting the post
In vic it’s an offensive to have an open alholic drink in the vehicle while moving
Drinking alcohol while driving a vehicle, is against the law in NSW. And has been for quite some time.
“The law against drinking while driving was previously contained in the Road Rules 2008, but this legislation has been repealed. An equivalent provision is now found in regulation 298-1 of the NSW Road Rules 2014, which states that a driver must not consume alcohol while driving.”
Per NSW Courts (.com.au).
I guess then that we should also ban sight seeing as that could be deemed dangerous because you take your eyes away from the road.
Come on guys….. just a bit of common sense goes a long way.
Your so right a bunch of worries if you have confidence in your self management of your driving skills I don’t have a problem
It’s when you don’t have confidence and not Aware of other vehicles like you know people are sitting in the right-hand lane and don’t move over to the left and be considerate to other drivers
2 hours drive coffee time and rest. Approx 350klms stop camp no later than 1530hrs. No snacking when driving maybe as passenger.
I see workers hurrying off to work, in there car, with a coffee in there hand every day. Same,same.
Yes I am in full control it’s just the same as resting your arm on the door rest and using one hand on the wheel
Don’t see any problems with one hand on steering wheel done it all my driving years and Ian now 73 and never had an accident because I had one hand on wheel
Never had an accident whilst eating or drinking
I think who ever has this notification that people driving should just drive is a lot of nonsense
I love driving I am a good drive stick to the speed that is comfortable to the conditions I am driving
Yes I eat while driving only when there’s no time to stop. I do choose easy things to hold and keep firm, though, not like a messy pie. Something you can put down in a hurry if necessary. Also, grabbing my water bottle for a sip now and then whilst driving can be as distracting but I keep my eyes on the road and alert for anything unexpected.
I don’t think it’s something that needs to be illegal. Shiftworkers and truckies are always eating on the run. It would be more distracting if your stomach was gurgling and your mind was on food and not the road.
Confectionery yes, other food, no. If anyone wants something like a sandwich or pie, it’s a good time to stop and have a rest break. A drink of water or soft drink shouldn’t be a problem as it isn’t as though you’re holding on to it for a prolonged period. A few seconds to take a mouthful after you have made sure it is safe to do so should not create any issues.
No way …. Your concentration becomes lower as you eat concentrating on your sandwich and the road simultaneously and is not a responsible thing to do.
One should stop to eat and take the time for a short break which is necessary when travelling long distances … towing or not, there’s no difference.
Stick to square pies don’t run as easily as round ones,,!!
If you are a so called grey nomad, there is no need to eat while driving. You should be in no hurry to get to any specific place so stop, take a walk around and have you meal and a cup of coffee.
No! you don’t eat and drive thats just stupid, oh but then again why take personnel responsibly for one self and their passenger. We need a law against this because people are so entitled, it’s all about them we have to make laws so the dummies can survive and don’t take out innocents.