10 most dangerous foods to eat on the road

[Gifted Gourmet]

from MSN Moneycentral.com

Eating while you drive is one of the most distracting things you can do, according to several recent surveys by insurance companies and data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration ... most drivers had problems in the morning on the way to work, when spills were likely to mar their work attire.  "It really seems it's more the spill than the eating,"

Do you really need a list? ... The top 10 food offenders:

Coffee. It always finds a way out of the cup.

Hot soup. Many people drink it like coffee. Same effects.

Tacos. "A food that can disassemble itself without much help, leaving your car looking like a salad bar,"

Read the entire list ... any of these problems for you personally?

a related thread on "Car Cuisine" but somewhat lacking that danger element

[Daddy-A]

4. Chili. Dangerous drips and slops down the front of clothing

As opposed to that much safer option ... soup. Who the hell eats chili in the car anyway?

I found it interesting the list dealt with a lot of grease on the steering wheel rather than the driver being distracted.

A.

[Susan G]

4.

I found it interesting the list dealt with a lot of grease on the steering wheel rather than the driver being distracted.

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About a year ago in Santa Fe County, a New Mexico State Police officer in his patrol car with lights and sirens running collided with another car coming in the opposite direction. The civilian driver made a complaint that he had seen a bucket of KFC in the front seat of the patrol car......the resulting investigation found the officer had been negligent: Grease on the steering wheel had caused the car to go out of control.

Now I call that multi-tasking! Running red lights, speeding on a twisting road, *and* eating a greasy dinner! Woohoo!

My personal favorite distraction while driving? Eating french fries *with ketchup*. Yup. (Hangs head in shame).

[mizducky]

My solution for long drives: driver-friendly finger foods... plus some paper towels and handi-wipes. Nuts, trail mix, dried fruit, crackers, celery sticks. Water in one of those sport bottles with the valve that clicks open and closed. In a pinch, I have also been known to do french fries and chicken fingers--but *not* with any kind of sauce--and pop in a lidded cup with a straw. But no squishy drippy foods, no hot liquids. And rule number 1: if something spills, I ignore it. Yeah, my car sometimes looks a bit like I'm trying to start a compost pile in the back seat. But having provisions on hand is the only way to endure freeway travel in SoCal--especially when (not if) you get caught in a traffic jam.

[I_call_the_duck]

The heading "Do you really need a list?" said it all. Come on. Chili? Soup? Tacos?!

OK, so I don't drive, but I play navigator and back-seat driver when my husband and I travel by car. When passing him food and drink, I make sure that we're a) on a straight road with relatively few cars directly ahead or behind us, 2) it's something that isn't messy (I usually avoid nuts or anything that can get stuck in your throat, mizducky), and 3) have plenty of napkins on hand.

[mizducky]

OK, so I don't drive, but I play navigator and back-seat driver when my husband and I travel by car.  When passing him food and drink, I make sure that we're a) on a straight road with relatively few cars directly ahead or behind us, 2) it's something that isn't messy (I usually avoid nuts or anything that can get stuck in your throat, mizducky), and 3) have plenty of napkins on hand.

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Hey, like they used to say in the Almond Joy commercials, "Sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don't."

(sez she who could be accused of frequent nuttiness)

[jamiemaw]

Recent experience has taught me that eating raw oysters whilst motoring is not without hazard, Melissa.

First, there's the little issue with evacuating them from their shells. Second, where to lodge the condiment tray within safe reach? I won't stomach splotches of To Hell and Back ("It'll Hurt Ya Twice") hot sauce on my hand-loomed Wilton carpets.

Last, while my new car enjoys a vast array of beverage holding opportunities, not one of them accomodates Riedels with anything approaching the security that Virgos require. And as you know only too well, to eat Kusshis and Effingham Bays without a decent Sancerre is like kissing your sister; the whole imbroglio quickly deteriorates into a piscine contest.

But a recent trip to the dentist, where he installed a rubber dam to repair a bicuspid inopportunely cracked on a rabbit knuckle, really turned the headlamps on for me.

Et Voila! Eva and I now cruise the byways and shorelines of British Columbia under a war surplus tent with headholes cut out and the condiments tray fastidiously decanted into squeeze bottles. Occasionally we stop for playful mignonette squirtgun fights, but always secure that our lambskins and hand-rubbed walnut woodworks are safe from foodborne incident.

And instead of avoiding the kind of nuts that can get stuck in your craw, take the lead from me and just run 'em over. Or, I suppose, you can always invoke the Heneiken Manoeuvre.

I hope this helps,

Jamie

Edited February 27, 2006 by jamiemaw (log)

[jgm]

Whoever put that list together was such an amateur. Puhleeeeez!

Anything that contains any kind of sauce within bread, such as a cheeseburger with everything, can be wrapped carefully in a napkin and consumed without worry.

Everything else, including filled doughnuts, is not a problem for those with a decent amount of coordination. Small bites. Always.

Fried chicken? Either hold onto it with a napkin, or have a pile of napkins nearby for frequent hand-wiping. Ditto with other greasy foods. Eat slowly and carefully.

Required: a safe resting place for any food, if things get dodgy. Driving and watching the road must come first. If I'm going to eat on the road, I first arrange things within a tray or box so that I can either see them in my secondary vision, or find them by feel.

Anything that must be dipped in sauce and then brought to the mouth is best left for another time. A Tide To Go stick will not, as the commercials insist, take out everything.

[Pyewacket]

Always found Cinnabons to be dangerous while driving. Once you take the first bite, the wwhole thing unrolls itself into your lap! Additionally, the buns are so wide, you really can't take a small bite, so your cheeks get all sticky right out of the gate!

[NWKate]

Frankly, it would probably be more dangerous for me to be on the road without coffee! Isn't that why travel mugs were made? As for shucking oysters, i can't even safely do that in my own kitchen although my afficionado friends have told me that wearing a glove and using a paper towel help!

Kate

[divalasvegas]

I guess I have to be the official wet blanket here, but I say that if you're driving you eat NOTHING while driving. While watching a recent program regarding the autobahn--construction, rules of the road, etc.--I remember that German drivers were asked what the difference between them and American drivers. Their response: cupholders. Too many American drivers seem to feel that paying attention to their driving 100% would be too inconvenient and not fit into their multi-tasking lifestyles, to which I say bullshit. I have on various occasions almost been run over by: a) Mr. Mercedes with cell phone (ran through stop sign in pedestrian crossing that I was using; a few more steps and I would have been his rather attractive but messy hood ornament and b) Ms. Lincoln Continental who almost swerved and ran over me because she had her toy dog on the steering wheel 'cause I guess it looked so darned adorable helping her drive, as well as almost in a major wreck because of c) Mr. I Can Too Have Reading Material on My Steering Wheel and Drive a Monster Pickup who almost ran the cab I was riding in off the road (actually this took place on a local highway, even scarier). That last one is so common in these parts that it's not funny. For me eating while driving falls into the same category.

So IMHO if you must nosh, please pull over to a rest stop or try to have something filling before you leave home. Whether the food being consumed is greasy or hot or very liquid is irrelevant. I really don't think that there's any such thing as a "safe" food to eat while driving. I think it's very hard to overcome the reflex to try to catch something that's dropping from your fingers or to take your eyes from the road for "just a sec" to reach over and grab that next nibble.

Edited for Grammar.

Edited February 27, 2006 by divalasvegas (log)

[Gifted Gourmet]

First, there's the little issue with evacuating them from their shells. Second, where to lodge the condiment tray within safe reach? I won't stomach splotches of To Hell and Back ("It'll Hurt Ya Twice") hot sauce on my hand-loomed Wilton carpets.

I suppose, you can always invoke the Heneiken Manoeuvre.

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As usual, cher Jamie, you have managed to "nail it" (as we say here dans le Sud d'Amerique) comme d'habitude ... and one other piddling point as well, wasn't this maneuver (manoeuvre) named for US surgeon Henry Jay Heimlich?

[purplewiz]

Whether I eat or not while driving depends a lot on where I'm driving. If I'm playing dodge 'em on the crowded twisty roads of the east coast, forget the food. I'm too busy trying to avoid being hit to be hungry anyway.

But when I'm on the interstate between Casper and Sheridan, Wyoming, where once I'm out of town I can set the cruise control, sit back, and not touch the brake or the gas pedal for an hour or more, where you watch the road mainly to avoid any deer and antelope playing and the only time you change lanes is to move left to pass slow moving trucks, then move right again, eating while driving isn't a problem. It's something to relieve the monotony. And there may not be a place to pull over and buy food for an hour or more if you're hungry. Like most things, it all depends on the circumstances.

But even then, sheesh, tacos? Tacos are not road food. Neither is barbecue or chili or anything you can't eat with one hand only, no utensils. I've done hamburgers ok, but they weren't loaded with sauce. And sodas are quite doable if you take small sips, same with coffee. And always keep Kleenex within easy reach.

Marcia.

[TarteTatin]

It really makes me very upset when people use their cell phone while driving one handed and eating at the same time as putting make up on.

Seriously, this puts me, a safe bicyclist in the city, in an extremely dangerous position.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I keep both hands on the handlebars and don't eat anything while "driving" to work. I have to keep my eyes and ears open for all of you who aren't aware and might hit me.

As far as food goes, it just keeps in with my concept of "slow food" as opposed to just stuffing my face while engaging in another activity.

(I take the same point of view with another activity which shall remain nameless!)

[jamiemaw]

First, there's the little issue with evacuating them from their shells. Second, where to lodge the condiment tray within safe reach? I won't stomach splotches of To Hell and Back ("It'll Hurt Ya Twice") hot sauce on my hand-loomed Wilton carpets.

I suppose, you can always invoke the Heneiken Manoeuvre.

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As usual, cher Jamie, you have managed to "nail it" (as we say here dans le Sud d'Amerique) comme d'habitude ... and one other piddling point as well, wasn't this maneuver (manoeuvre) named for US surgeon Henry Jay Heimlich?

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I believe that each culture has its own name and methodology for abdominal thrusting protocols, Melissa. In our own, the preferred technique to dislodge unwanted food matter is invoked with a sluicing of Dutch lager. In the unhappy event of a more severe blockage, another preferred method is to volunteer as brakeman in the two man luge. At the forthcoming Vancouver Olympics in 2010, we will be introducing the Mixed Luge, the Party (8-person) Luge, and Extreme Curling, which is essentially four burly men in Speedos, toques and lumberjack boots sweeping vigorously and drinking beer from stubby bottles.

As far as food goes, it just keeps in with my concept of "slow food" as opposed to just stuffing my face while engaging in another activity.

(I take the same point of view with another activity which shall remain nameless!)

     

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Same rules pretty much apply here too, TT, I mean about stuffing your face whilst driving. While not strictly illegal except in the province of Prince Edward Island, making love while motoring has dropped in popularity relative to the other popular forms of oral gratification that you suggest. Sadistics Canada, our federal research agency, largely puts this up to the spike in gasoline prices and suggests that many Canadian couples are now making love in the garage, or, on warmer days, in the driveway. They also put the increased popularity of hand-rubbed woodworks up to this phenomenon.

I hope this helps,

Jamie

Edited February 28, 2006 by jamiemaw (log)

[Darcie B]

I think a very soft serve ice cream cone in a car with a manual transmission should be on the list. But it can be done!

It's safer to not eat while driving but I often do it. However, I am prepared to drop the sandwich. I focus on my driving foremost. For instance, while involved in a conversation with a friend today, I noticed someone at a very curious angle next to me at a stoplight. I told my passenger that Ms. Minivan was going to turn left in front of me from the wrong lane (I was also turning left), and she sure did. Gotta pay attention. Of course, I could have used the insurance money

I sometimes eat when I drive but I rarely turn on the radio anymore...get too involved in singing (very, very badly).

[jgm]

Out here in the Wide Open Spaces, we have a local joke (probably should offer apologies to Jeff Foxworthy, but I won't):

How do you know if you're really a redneck woman?

If you can breast feed a baby, drink a beer, smoke a cigarette, and drive a stick shift, all at the same time.

Driving conditions here in the Midwest are different from the more populated areas. If it weren't for eating a 3-course meal, or trying to change pantyhose while driving (or both) I'd probably fall asleep at the wheel.

[mizducky]

At the forthcoming Vancouver Olympics in 2010, we will be introducing the Mixed Luge, the Party (8-person) Luge, and Extreme Curling, which is essentially four burly men in Speedos, toques and lumberjack boots sweeping vigorously and drinking beer from stubby bottles.

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Okay, the visual this conjures up would definitely make me unsafe on the road--due to uncontrolable chortling.

[Timh]

and #11. A Stuckey's Pecan Log. What exactly is it? How long has it been on the shelf? And the intense sugar rush causes impaired driving sensibilities.

[jamiemaw]

and #11.  A Stuckey's Pecan Log.  What exactly is it? How long has it been on the shelf? And the intense sugar rush causes impaired driving sensibilities.

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Big 10-4 to that little buddy. Pull over NOW and back away from the vehicle slowly.

[chuck]

My rule has been, 'if I can't lose it immediately on the floor of the passenger seat then I shouldn't be consuming it in the car'. I didn't come by this rule through intuition unfortunately, and trying to sell a three year old car with huge stains on the right-side floor mat did raise some issues. Nothing really serious, like kimchi or anything, but brushing dried cheese out of black carpet is not easy. The longest lasting smell, and it made me switch to drip, was from a fresh, hot latte. It didn't even happen as a result of swerving to miss a kid or duck, I think I just took too long to get it into the cup holder when merging. It had to go. It happened in the late fall and I smelled that all winter. Sold the car in summer, fortunately. 'Check out how well the air conditioning works... It's like a refrigerator.'

I've just recently changed my driving priorities. A guy explained to me that men can focus really intently on one thing, but women can put on makeup, drink coffee, and have an in-depth conversation while driving. I don't believe that women are really that proficient, as I have been cut off more than once, but he asked me one question that changed the way I think about myself as a driver: 'When you get lost do you turn off the radio so that you can focus?' Well, son of a bitch, I do. I don't even talk on the phone anymore, even with the wireless thing. Eat a doughnut? May as well drive off a bridge...

[jamiemaw]

   

'When you get lost do you turn off the radio so that you can focus?'  Well, son of a bitch, I do.  I don't even talk on the phone anymore, even with the wireless thing.  Eat a doughnut?  May as well drive off a bridge...

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Couldn't agree more. The missus and I (reluctantly) don't shuck oysters in school zones anymore.

[Lady T]

Out here in the Wide Open Spaces, we have a local joke (probably should offer apologies to Jeff Foxworthy, but I won't):

How do you know if you're really a redneck woman? 

If you can breast feed a baby, drink a beer, smoke a cigarette, and drive a stick shift, all at the same time.

Driving conditions here in the Midwest are different from the more populated areas.  If it weren't for eating a 3-course meal, or trying to change pantyhose while driving (or both) I'd probably fall asleep at the wheel.

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LOL!

Many folks from other areas of the country (or other entire countries, to be fair) don't 'get' the American Midwest. We truly do have whole dead-flat (inter)states worth of miles and miles of NOTHING but...miles and miles, bisected by roads straighter than God's own ruler, and utterly empty (think about Nebraska, for example. Briefly, please. A fuller consideration will take you a week.). These are truly the roads where a dainty l'il nosh -- or a seven course banquet -- can be consumed with nobody killed or injured.

Try that on the Outer Drive in Chicago's morning rush hour, on the other hand, and one can only hope your affairs are in order and pray you won't take too many innocents with you.