To ask for opinions on the safety of eating a cream cheese bagel while driving?

[MrsBertMacklin]

Where would it sit in the spectrum of multi tasking?

a)flipping radio stations
b)eating a chocolate bar
c)taking a phone call with no handsfree
d) eating a bowl of cereal

I'm saying between (b) and (c) and therefore not a good idea. The bagel would be prepared with toppings before getting into the car.

[AimlesslyPurposeful]

Am just starting to drive confidently (Haven't taken test yet) but wouldn't do anything other than drive whilst driving! But then I drove onto the wrong side of the road trying to turn the air con off.

However, would say eating a bagel would be ok as you could hold it and the wheel at the same time. I'd be more concerned that a bit of stodgy bagel might choke you than cause slowed reaction times if there was a hazard.

Like a PP I saw the article about a woman being stopped by the police for taking a drink of water whilst driving. I wonder why that is more dangerous than smoking? You'd have to fish the cigarette out of the packet, find a lighter, light the cigarette and put it out when you've finished. Surely all that requires you taking your eyes off the road. Plus there's the worry of the driver dropping the cigarette and having to retrieve it while driving. Seems far more dangerous than a sip of water.

[thenightsky]

Gearbox... manual or auto?

[wasonthelist]

Many cars (inc mine and it's 10 yrs old) allow you to change radio stations using controls on the steering wheel so no need to take eyes off the road at all.

[Lurkedforever1]

Depends. Do you intend holding it in your lips whilst biting with teeth, or shoving it in whole so you can be keep both hands on the wheel? If you intend eating it properly, with a whole tub of cream cheese on the dashboard and dipping the bagel in prior to each bite, that's possibly dangerous as the bagel might not be evenly dipped if the road distracts you. I'm also not sure where you'd plug in a decent toaster so Yabu.
Seriously though it's no more dangerous putting food in your mouth than changing gears. Don't know about anyone else but I put food down between bites anyway, so it doesn't cause one handed driving. And I don't need to look at either food to pick it up, or the stereo to change stations/ tracks etc.