The 10 Most Dangerous Foods to Eat While Driving

Drivers who are drinking and stuffing their faces while on the road are a serious problem.

Restraining Orders for Food?

Hagerty Classic Insurance, a provider of classic-car insurance, looked more closely at this issue after a DMV check on an insurance applicant turned up a "restraining order" against anything edible within his reach while driving. The man apparently had several accidents attributed to eating while driving on his record.

Eating while driving is one of the many distracting things you can do, according to a study released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute. 87% of rear-end crashes in which the driver struck the lead vehicle, and 42% of near-crashes involve some form of driver distraction.

Though NHTSA doesn't track specific information on food-related distraction, it does track general distractions. According to NHTSA, distraction was most likely to be involved in rear-end collisions in which the lead vehicle was stopped and in single-vehicle crashes. What makes distractions like eating such a problem is that they combine with unexpected situations – like a sharp curve or another driver's sudden stop – to cause an accident.

The top 10 food offenders in a car are:

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 Dogs – The potential for drips and slops down the front of clothing is significant.
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. Barbecued food – Ditto. The sauce may be great, but if you have to lick your fingers, the sauce will end up on whatever you touch – and that wheel will be tough to grip.
7. Fried chicken – Another food that leaves you with greasy hands, which means constantly wiping them on something, even if it's your shirt.
8. Jelly donuts – Have you eaten a jelly donut without some of the center oozing out? It's simply not possible.
9. Soft drinks – Not only are they subject to spills, but also the carbonated kind can fizz as you're drinking if you make sudden movements, and most of us remember cola fizz in the nose from childhood. It isn't any more pleasant now.
10. Chocolate – Like greasy foods, chocolate coats the fingers as it melts, leaving its mark anywhere you touch. As you try to clean it off the steering wheel you're likely to end up swerving.

Insurance companies don't track specific information on eating and driving, because it's too difficult to break it down. But every company knows it's a problem. The difficulty in pinning down the exact cause of accidents lies in separating distractions such as cell phone use, talking to passengers, reading the newspaper, and eating, all of which drivers engage in while also trying to operate a two-ton piece of machinery.

How widespread is this food problem?

In a 2001 survey of 1,000 drivers for Exxon, more than 70 percent of drivers say they eat while driving, up from 58 percent in 1995. Eighty-three percent say they drink coffee, juice, or soda while driving and a few even say they'd love a microwave in their car.

While the NHTSA study doesn't mention eating as a driver distraction, food is probably involved in many crashes. Actions that cause distracted driving and lead to vehicle crashes are:

• Using a cell phone. Calling for carry-out?
• Reaching for a moving object. Flying French fries?
• Looking at an object or event outside of the vehicle. Where is Starbucks?
• Reading. Or tweeting for the closest BBQ?
• Applying makeup. Every second counts!

A 2008 national poll conducted by Nationwide Mutual showed that only 3 percent of respondents said "eating" is the most dangerous distraction for people while driving.

But, can you afford to be distracted? Think of this way. If you take your eyes off the road for 5 seconds every 5 minutes you drive, you've lost control of your car for a full minute every hour! And, besides being the right thing to do, cutting back on everyday driving distraction will help you save money on car insurance. Insurance.com's study of accidents and traffic tickets shows that the average auto insurance rate increases 25% following the first accident.

Got a great story about food and driving?

Tips for getting the best insurance quotes

Tips for getting the best insurance quotes.

General insurance tips:

1. Have your current insurance policy with you when requesting your insurance quotes.
2. Consider a higher insurance deductible.
3. Place all of your insurance policies with the same company to qualify for a multiple policy discount.

For car insurance quotes

1. Be sure all vehicle discounts are applied (Anti-lock brakes, Alarm system, daytime running lights, vin-etching, etc.).
2. Take a defensive driving course.
3. Be very accurate about your mileage to and from work.
4. Ask about affinity discounts.

For a homeowners insurance quotes

1. Be sure that your home is insured to its value
2. Be sure all home discounts are applied (Alarm, smoke alarms, fire extinguishers, dead bolt locks, etc.).
3. If your older home has been renovated, tell your agent.

For a life insurance quotes

1. Consider level premium term insurance.
2. If you are a smoker, quit for at least 13 months and request that your insurance company consider you for a nonsmoker insurance rate.

For a health insurance quotes

1. Consider a higher co-payment or deductible.
2. Join a group health insurance plan.

For a long-term insurance quotes

1. Consider a longer elimination (waiting) period.
2. Purchase coverage when you are young (premiums are lower).
3. Pick a daily benefit based on where you live.

You can likely chop your car insurance bill in half

If you're looking to trim your expenses as much as possible, you might be eying your insurance bills. There are many ways to tinker with your car insurance coverage to chop your premium down to a bare minimum. You could call your insurance company and:

* Drop your liability limits to the minimum level allowed by state law
* Drop your collision and comprehensive coverages
* Keep collision and comprehensive but increase your deductible to $1,000 or more
* Drop your uninsured motorists (UM) coverage

How low can you go? You can likely chop your car insurance bill in half by dropping your liability limits from "recommended" limits of 100/300/50 down to 25/50/10, dropping collision and comprehensive, and dropping UM (see chart below for average savings). Many states have minimum liability limits of 25/50/10, but others are higher or lower. See the minimum levels of car insurance you are required to buy.
How low can you go?
Average national insurance premiums
Vehicle Coverage of 100/300/50 with comprehensive & collision, UM included Coverage of 25/50/10, no comprehensive or collision, no UM Savings
Honda CR-V $834 $426 49%
Honda Odyssey $786 $338 57%
Chevy Tahoe $878 $420 52%
Ford F-series pickup $905 $438 52%
Toyota Camry $885 $412 53%
Chrysler Town & Country $768 $355 54%
Audi A8 $1,268 $426 66%
Source: bestinsurance4u.com research.
Average national premiums calculated for a 40-year-old single male driver. Policy limits of 100/300/50 assume a $500 deductible. Model year 2004 was used for all quotes because collision and comprehensive are often dropped on older cars. We used states with liability minimums of 25/50/10; some states require higher minimums.

But remember this: Dropping your car insurance to a bare minimum opens you up to substantial risk.

"You want to consider that very carefully. You’re trying to protect the assets you have," says Robert Passmore, spokesperson for the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCIAA), an industry trade group. If you have a house, savings and investments, they could be put at risk if you cause a large accident where damage exceeds your insurance limits. And if you've dropped your UM coverage, a driver with no or inadequate insurance could wreck your finances too.

Passmore notes that the most expensive coverage dollars are the first dollars. In other words, $100,000 in coverage does not cost twice the price of $50,000 in coverage. "It’s like getting a volume discount," says Passmore.

Another quick way to save money is to comparison shop and change companies based solely on price. Before you leap to another insurer, check its track record. You won't receive more value for your insurance dollar if your new company has poor customer service. Many states release "complaint ratios" showing the relative number of consumer complaints against each company. bestinsurancequotes4u.com has contact information for state insurance departments.

recession in full swing and unemployment still moving higher

With the recession in full swing and unemployment still moving higher, consumers are looking for opportunities to save money any way they can. The most common budget items most look to trim first are things like groceries, gas and other expenses that vary month to month. But for some reason insurance costs, which are generally fixed, are often ignored.

That could be a costly mistake. Simply reviewing your auto and homeowners insurance policies and making a few adjustments could save you more than one hundred dollars a month. But where should you start?

First, take a hard look at your deductibles. Raising your home and auto insurance deductibles from $250 to $1,000 could reduce your premiums by 25 and 40 percent, respectively. You'll incur higher out-of-pocket costs should you need to file a claim, but the amount you'll save on your premiums may be well worth it.

Savings: Up to $45 per month. Time: Approx. 15 minutes

Second, carrying your home and auto insurance policies with a single insurer could save you even more. According to the Insurance Information Institute, converting to a multi line policy could save you as much as 15 percent on each premium. Plus, you'll have one fewer bill to pay each month.

Savings: As much as $20 per month. Time: Approx. 30 minutes

Third, if you haven't compared insurance providers in more than a year, you're overdue. And the simple act of shopping around can save you money instantly. There are a number of ways to get quotes, but one of the easiest ways is to let those quotes come to you by using an online comparison site such as WWW.bestinsurancequotes4u.com.

Savings: As much as $50 per month or more. Time: Approx. 15 minutes

Total Savings: Up to $115 or more per month

Total Time: Approximately one hour
learn more about ways to save on your auto and homeowners insurance, visit the bestinsurancequotes4u.com