Richard Hyatt: If you eat and drive, do it carefully

You deserve a break today. But do you deserve a traffic ticket?

A driver in Cobb County was cited for "driving while eating," after an officer followed him for two miles while he was devouring a double quarter-pounder with cheese.

Like so many of us do, the driver had gone through a take-out window at McDonalds and was eating his juicy burger on his way to a friend's house.

"Driving while eating," was in the comment section on the ticket issued to Madison Turner, an Alabama resident who was pulled over last week. Turner told an Atlanta TV reporter that the officer said his driving wasn't impaired.

"I was careful. I didn't even spill mustard on my shirt," he said.

You won't find "driving while eating" in the Georgia Code, but you will find Section 40-6-241, which deals with Uniform Rules of the Road. The most talked about part of this law deals with Georgia's prohibition against texting while driving. In a broad manner, it covers anything that might distract us from driving, including eating.

I'm guilty. I've gone coast to coast sampling every fast food joint known to man. I've decorated my floorboard with empty sacks, used wrappers and even a few discarded chicken bones. And I never thought I was breaking the law.

Now we know different. If we are snacking behind the wheel, we're considered "less safe."

That driver in Atlanta faces a fine and possibly points added to his license, though he could get off if the officer can't testify that his driving was affected. Turner goes to court Feb. 3.

I've left stains on my tie, crumbs in my lap and have turned over a large iced tea on my console, but my sloppy eating hasn't caused me to have an accident. Surveys show I'm lucky.

An insurance company study says distracted drivers are two times more likely to have a wreck if they're eating. A person involved in personal grooming is three times more likely and a driver who's reading is four times more likely.

In our defense, another study indicates that 11.4 percent of accidents are caused by drivers distracted by a CD player or radio compared to 1.7 percent caused by dining. By comparison, cellphones cause 1.5 percent.

Maj. J.D. Hawk of the Columbus Police Department said while eating and driving isn't a good idea, his officers aren't apt to pull you over just for eating a burger. "In my opinion, you have to have a violation."

Drinking a soft drink or talking on our cellphone often causes us to drive too slow or too fast and either is a problem, Hawk said.

"So as a general rule, you shouldn't drive and eat," he warned.

And if you're eating, don't text.

-- Richard Hyatt is an independent correspondent. Reach him at hyatt31906@knology.net.

This story was originally published January 20, 2015 at 9:59 PM with the headline "Richard Hyatt: If you eat and drive, do it carefully."