Government cracking down on food habits of van drivers

New legislation is expected to criminalise eating behind the wheel

Van drivers are being warned of the dangers of eating behind the wheel following a Government announced in May that a new penalty of three points, as well as a £90 fine, is being considered for drivers who eat while driving.

It comes after police forces have labelled such eating as dangerous behaviour, while officers in Liverpool claim to have caught certain motorists eating sandwiches from a lunchbox suspended over the steering wheel.

In a recent survey nearly 59 per cent of van drivers admitted to eating behind the wheel of their vehicles, according to research conducted by Commercial Vehicle Direct.

Experts claim that eating while driving is more dangerous than using a phone or being intoxicated, with reaction times suffering by up to 44 per cent, as opposed to a 37.4 per cent reduction in reaction times whilst texting.

Andrew Jackson, the Director of Retail Broking at Commercial Vehicle Direct has said: "While it's not yet illegal to eat and drive, it's likely to be law soon and some police forces are taking pre-emptive action If commercial vehicle drivers want to avoid fines and hefty increases in insurance premiums following convictions, they need to eat before they jump in the driving seat."

Pre-emptive measures that are already in place include Operation Truckcam, which targets those who are eating, using their mobiles or reading.

Original Article :Nathan Velayudhan @ www.autoexpress.co.uk

Replies

Stuart Land-Scape.co.uk August 12, 2013 at 7:32pm

i thought it was already illegal? you hear of people at the traffic lights getting nicked for drinking from a bottle.

ok, where do i sign up to protest? one of the few pleasures that's still available to me is supping a nice brew on the way home......

in a similar article, 100% of drivers admit talking to passengers, i understand that passengers will soon have to be gagged, placed in a straitjacket and blindfolded before any journey.

i must admit, i'm looking forward to that one
Richard Boyd August 13, 2013 at 9:50am

Well said Stuart. The righteous walk amongst us and are our masters. Apparently in Russia you are still allowed to breath without any official documentation, who knew?
Bespoke Lawncare August 13, 2013 at 5:53pm

Motorists are the police / governments additional revenue, if they can do you for any thing at all they will, they then achieve targets make money and let the pedophile and drug dealers carry on regardless.
Police is today another word for tax collecter