I think that this was really careless of him to do this and he could of possibly killed someone. Remember the accident on the Oklahoma Turnpike last July that killed nine people? This was also caused by driver carelessness. These guys are driving around an 80,000 pound vehicle at upwards of seventy miles an hour and our personal vehicles weigh 1/20th of that. There is great responsibility in driving a vehicle of this magnitude and you need to more conscience of your surroundings and be on high alert at all times. According to the information on smartmotorist.com, 20-50 percent of accidents are caused by driver inattention.
What is astounding is on froedtert.com, they had an online survey to which teens and parents responded to. A staggering 45 percent said that were distracted while eating in their vehicle. More amazing is that 80 percent of car crashes and 65 percent of near misses are caused by eating while driving as this article indicates. I know that most of us are really busy and rely on multitasking and going through a drive thru is ever so easy nowadays since almost every fast food chain has one. I am guilty of this and a few years back I was stopped by the highway patrol for eating breakfast on the way to work. He told me that is why he stopped me and I explained to him that I was trying to eat before work and he waited for me to finish before I could leave. I was really lucky that I didn't get a ticket, but it made me more be aware as he told me that the ticket for careless and imprudent driving can cost you your license in Missouri. So I did the next best thing, I tagged my car in Oklahoma and got really dark tint so it would be harder to see. It is no excuse as to my carelessness, but it is something now with age that you consciously don't do. I will usually wait to eat until I get to work now.
I will admit that eating while driving to work accomplishes two things. You get to work on time and you have energy to start working. You just have to be smart about it. If you are merely eating a bagel versus a hamburger or chili in this case, be smart and pull over. It only takes a few minutes and you could avoid a serious accident.
Perhaps on another side of your argument the drivers of these vehicle should not be pushed by hour regulations so hard that they are forced to eat on the road. Federal DOT regulations only allow a driver to log 14 hours in a day from the time he hits the road to the time he has to shut down the truck for 10 hours. Believe me, with 2000 miles to go you can't always stop and eat. On another point, yes, drivers of big rigs need to be extra attentive, and just like any drivers there are good ones and bad ones. CAR drivers need to be more attentive of larger vehicles, it swings both ways.
ReplyDeleteWell I will have to say that I have been accused of some bad things after eating Wendy's chili. I don't think that I have ever wrecked my car because of it. If you have ever had to deal with some of these truck drivers I am not sure that alot of them even need to be on the road. With or without the chili.
ReplyDeleteI tend to drive and eat my breakfast on the way to school usually a banana or a cup of ceral and can be rather difficult. But before you can judge me for my erronious ways let me also tell you that I live smack dabe in the middle of nowhere and I've usually finished my breakfast by the time I've made it down my dirt road which usually takes at least 10 minutes driving at a whopping 7mph. So while it may be wrong its justifiable and it has taught be how dangerous it can be to drive and be distracted. Occassionally I'll pick up food in town and much on it on the way home but I always make a point to pay extra attention, like not eating while in traffic, somthing that many people dont do at all. Being distracted while driving leads to accidents for anyone no matter what they are driving so it is important to eat in moderation. My aunt drives a semi and it can involve some long hard hours during which you may need to eat. Eating isnt so much the problem though, it involves what you are eating, I reccomend llittle things like nuts and such, and your ability to safely multitask.
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