Just changing the radio station is more distracting than drinking in your car. People should really have better studies regarding distraction before passing stupid laws. I predict this law will have a negative impact in general. Of course, I can't be sure, but you will never get a Seattle resident to not drink coffee in their car. They will now be compelled to hide the drink resulting in even more distraction. This could also have the perverse affect of drivers being thirsty and hungry which affects driving performance. Fucking stupid.deLurch wrote:Eating can be more complex depending on the nature of the food.Guest_936d3dec wrote:In Washington State it just became illegal to drink water and drive. Basically anything more trivial than tapping a mounted phone is now illegal, including eating and drinking in a car.
http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-new ... g-commute/
I wonder what the statistics are on drink and food related accidents. One major downside is the alertness of truck drivers if they cannot enjoy some coffee, peanuts & beef jerky while driving. I assume people on their daily commute can just suck it up.
I am really glad I don't live on the West coast of the US. I would be tempted to kill everyone. They are smart but not wise out there.
One of the big issues about distraction is that things like phones make attention demands. Things like coffee do not. Generally people avoid drinking their coffee when traffic is getting complex and they need to make decisions. Things like phones... and even navi systems compel drivers to give them immediate attention. These attention grabbers are the biggest problem.
There is also the poorly studied effect of what I call "loose attention". When you drive you do not use highly focused attention. You are in more of a "loose attention" space. It's like walking. You don't really pay sharp attention to your walking. You just walk. You have a loose awareness of your surroundings and what your options are for decisions. This is how driving works as well. SO... the question is more about making sure distractions don't affect your global view of your driving based decisions.
I will also say that setting the rear AC on my fucking Ford Flex is more distracting than eating a god damned taco. You have to stare at these stupid spaces on the touch screen. I love the vehicle except for the Ford touch screen interface. The haptic is a nightmare. Really... I almost had a wreck using that fucking interface. I need REAL FUCKING BUTTONS YOU WHORES!
https://www.wired.com/story/mit-distracted-driving/