Distracted Driving Is OUT OF CONTROL!

February 3, 2015 No Comments

For years now I’ve lived directly across the street from a popular fast food restaurant.  From my second floor office window ( just 30 yards from the parking lot’s exit) I’ve seen thousands of drivers leave the restaurant while eating the food they just picked up from the drive-through.

But today, I didn’t just watch the cars, I counted them and did an inventory of how many drivers were eating/drinking or otherwise distracted while they were driving out of the parking lot.   Below are my findings –

• 176 – were careful drivers with both hands on the wheel and watching where they were driving
• 94 – were eating and/or drinking while driving (many seen eating were clearly more focused on eating than driving)
• 12 – were operating a mobile telephone while driving (either talking or texting)
• 10 – were smoking while driving
• 32% of vehicles leaving the restaurant had drivers who were eating and/or drinking while making a hard left turn into traffic

Many of the drivers who were seen eating while driving were also driving erratically and sloppily (e.g. cutting corners, blocking traffic, rolling through the stop sign, driving in the wrong lane, and failing to yield).

While most vehicles with distracted drivers were cars, many were pickup trucks and a few were commercial vehicles (e.g. one was a UPS truck).

I found that there are degrees of impairment.  Most distracted drivers had one hand on the wheel, but a handful were seen using both hands to eat, smoke, or text (using elbows or knees to steer?).

Most of those eating would place their take out bag next to their right hip.  They would take food out of the bag with their right (usually dominant) hand.  That may not sound so bad, but these folks were making a sharp left hand turn out of the parking lot into traffic while only having their left (predominantly non-dominant hand) on the wheel.  Do you think it’s wise to make a sharp left turn while accelerating into busy traffic while only using only your left hand?

Who were these distracted drivers.  Overall, most of the drivers who appeared to be older (50s and 60s) were found to be careful drivers.  Most of the drivers in the distracted group seemed to be younger drivers (20s and 30s).  The drivers of vehicles with children in them tended to be in the careful group, however I did see one mother with a car full of young children (not wearing their seat belts) eating and drinking while driving!

The above informal observations were based upon a quick sampling of drivers at one particular fast food restaurant with a drive-through.  A broader and more scientific study very well may find numbers that are different then mine.  It is my hope that the above observations create enough interest to generate further investigation.  I’d love to some day read a more in-depth study that answers the following types of questions:

• How many accidents are caused by drivers who were eating or drinking while driving?
• Is eating while driving as hazardous as texting while driving?   If so, should eating while driving be prohibited?  
• Should drivers of safety critical vehicles (e.g. buses, hazard materials trucks, over-sized trucks, etc.) be forbidden from eating, drinking, smoking, texting, and/or making phone-calls while driving?
• Some drive-through’s warn customers of the dangers of hot coffee.  Should all drive-through’s be required to warn customers of the dangers of eating and drinking while driving?
• Why is it that younger drivers partake in more distracted activities then do older drivers?   Are younger drivers more easily bored by the task of driving?  If so, how might this be remedied?
• What foods tend to be eaten the most while driving?   Are some foods more distracting to eat while driving then other foods?  If so, should only the “safer foods” be sold in drive-throughs?
• If a driver must eat while driving, is there a preferred safer technique to do it?  If so, should a communications program be implemented to educate the driving public on how to drive safely while eating?

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One third of the nearly 300 drivers observed today exiting this fast food restaurant were distracted by eating or drinking.  Given these odds, I’m certainly not going to let my young grand-kids anywhere near this restaurant unless accompanied by an adult!  Also, from now on when driving near fast food restaurants I’ll be on high alert – traveling slowly with my foot near the brake and a hand near the horn.

Here’s a recent report from the National Safety Council on the subject that says the problem is actually much worse than my above observations show.  Also, click here, here, and here for additional free resources and programs on distracted driving.

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One day after posting this article I heard a crash and looked out my office window.  I viewed the aftermath of yet another collision (see photos below).   

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