TEN FOODS TO AVOID WHILE DRIVING

Insurance.com Releases List Of Foods To Avoid While Driving
Related Disasters By DIANE LEVICK

The Hartford Courant

12:45 PM EDT, July 16, 2009

You're risking a crash by talking on a cell phone while driving, but slurping down chili dogs, tacos, and other messy foods behind the wheel could lead to disaster too, an online insurance agency warns.

In a humorous approach to a serious subject Thursday, Insurance.com released its list of "top 10 foods to avoid while driving," along with the mouth-watering logic behind each distraction:

1. Coffee -- Even in cups with travel lids, somehow the liquid finds its way out of the opening each time you hit a bump.

2. Hot soup -- Many people drink it like coffee and run the same risks.

3. Tacos -- Any food that can disassemble itself will leave your car looking like a salad bar.

4. Chili -- Huge potential for drips and slops down the front of clothing.

5. Hamburgers -- From the grease of the burger to ketchup and mustard, it could all end up on your hands, your clothes, and the steering wheel.

6. Ribs and wings -- What's more distracting than licking your fingers?

7. Fried chicken -- More greasy hands. You've got to wipe them off while driving.

8. Jelly or cream-filled doughnuts -- Ever eaten one without the center oozing out?

9. Soda -- Carbonation. Fizz in the nose. Lids that leak. Disaster.

10. Chocolate -- Try to clean melted chocolate off the steering wheel without swerving.

There was no explanation why ice cream cones didn't make the top 10, which reads like a list of dieters' downfalls.

Cleveland-based Insurance.com cites an Exxon survey of 1,000 drivers that found more than 70 percent eat while driving, and 83 percent drink beverages. The insurance agency notes that just one accident can increase your insurance rates as much as 25 percent.
Copyright © 2009, The Hartford Courant

EDITORIAL FOOTNOTE: I put this up for fun, however think about it.