No drinking coffee while driving?
Today, the lady who takes care of my mom part time told me that a law had been passed in NY making it illegal to drink coffee while driving. That a $200 fine can be levied upon offenders. (I don't think it was a coffee specific thing, but more of a 'drinking/distraction' thing.)
I hadn't heard anything about it. I grant you, I watch next to no TV and don't read the paper. So I pretty much live in a vacuum in some respects. And I can't find anything about it online, even at the NYS DMV site. Anyone know if what she's saying is even true? I may go down to the local PD and ask, but if it is?
Cell phones were one thing, but from what I've heard, studies have found that any sort of distraction/ reaching for something can contribute to an accident. So there's some validity in saying 'no coffee'. But where does one draw the line? Is it worse to have someone drinking coffee (or water, or whatever), or driving while sleepy, or dehydrated? Will it be deemed illegal to be looking at a set of directions as you drive? To have a conversation with a passenger? Drivers should certainly be aware of the dangers of any distraction, and try their best to minimize them. Let's fact it, there's a time and place to put on eye makeup, or shave, and it's not while you're whizzing down the road. But it's nearly impossible to eliminate distractions, and legislation that seeks to make every potential distraction illegal is impractical.
I hadn't heard anything about it. I grant you, I watch next to no TV and don't read the paper. So I pretty much live in a vacuum in some respects. And I can't find anything about it online, even at the NYS DMV site. Anyone know if what she's saying is even true? I may go down to the local PD and ask, but if it is?
Cell phones were one thing, but from what I've heard, studies have found that any sort of distraction/ reaching for something can contribute to an accident. So there's some validity in saying 'no coffee'. But where does one draw the line? Is it worse to have someone drinking coffee (or water, or whatever), or driving while sleepy, or dehydrated? Will it be deemed illegal to be looking at a set of directions as you drive? To have a conversation with a passenger? Drivers should certainly be aware of the dangers of any distraction, and try their best to minimize them. Let's fact it, there's a time and place to put on eye makeup, or shave, and it's not while you're whizzing down the road. But it's nearly impossible to eliminate distractions, and legislation that seeks to make every potential distraction illegal is impractical.