Georgia News, Man Ticketed for Eating Burger While Driving. (traction, brake, chip)
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GEORGIA COP SAYS MADISON TURNER BROKE 'DISTRACTED DRIVING' LAW
Cobb County police for “eating while driving” under the distracted driving law.
Madison Turner said he ordered a double quarter pounder with cheese from McDonald’s last week, and a police officer pulled him over, along Canton Road in Marietta.
How about sipping a coffee or soda while driving, is that a distraction that will need to be cited?
What if, instead of a burger, it was a bag of chips?
Distracted driving is distracted driving. It doesn't matter what is causing the distraction. It's a main reason why I've never quite understood laws that specifically address texting.
Personally, I'd rather see someone on their cell phone while driving than eating a burger. Burgers fall apart. When the bread gets soggy and sauce and crap starts to drip out, people tend to do everything they can to avoid getting stains on their pants/shirts.
I've always considered that to be a MAJOR distraction. It's not a candy bar. It's a large, hot, saucy burger.
I always said that if talking on a cell phone is a ticketable offense, then how come eating, drinking, putting on make-up in the mirror, etc aren't ticketable offenses as well. How is holding a cell phone any more or less distracting than holding a hot cup of coffee?
I always said that if talking on a cell phone is a ticketable offense, then how come eating, drinking, putting on make-up in the mirror, etc aren't ticketable offenses as well. How is holding a cell phone any more or less distracting than holding a hot cup of coffee?
Especially gas station coffee... Those lids have a tendency to fly off.
I always said that if talking on a cell phone is a ticketable offense, then how come eating, drinking, putting on make-up in the mirror, etc aren't ticketable offenses as well. How is holding a cell phone any more or less distracting than holding a hot cup of coffee?
Holding a cell phone is not any more or less distracting than holding a cup. But talking or texting on the phone is.
In addition to the visual (texting takes eyes off the road for a long time), it is the brain functions that are impacted differently.
Things like eating and drinking are done via muscle memory primarily controlled by the Cerebellum. The Cerebellum also helps you put move your foot from the gas to the brake and slow the car when needed, because your body is trained to do it.
However, driving uses other portions of the brain. The one that phone use most impacts is the Parietal Lobe. This impacts the ability to process the information presented by the senses. Imaging of the brain shows a significant decrease in parietal lobe activity while driving. People don't process all the visual and other information they get while driving when talking or talking and will be slower processing what they do see. Even engaged in conversation with a passenger impacts this as well, but to a lesser degree, but it still does.
People look in their mirrors less, check their speed less, don't notice cars slowing ahead of them as quickly, don't process speed limit and other signs. It is how the brain works.
It doesn't mean that eating and such is not distracting at all, particularly when someone looks away to see everything they just spilled, it is just significantly less than doing other things such as texting and talking on the phone (hands free or not).
Full disclosure, I am not any type of scientist or biologist or anything. As someone who enjoys participating in competitive driving events (as an amateur only) I've read a number of articles on driving including brain functions and psychology and have tried to briefly summarize some here.
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