Warning- Don't drive and spill

Eating is a major distraction for Americans behind the wheel.

So says the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which clearly has an appetite for this kind of issue.

Insurance companies likewise are concerned about our mobile eating practices.

In one case, an insurance applicant was saddled with a restraining order against having anything edible within his reach while driving. It seems the man had several accidents in which food was the apparent culprit.

According to the highway safety folks, distractions in cars were blamed for 25 percent of police-reported motor vehicle accidents.

There are no solid figures on how many of those distractions were caused by spilled coffee or a messy burger.

One insurance company reports that many of the food spills occur during morning rush hour. It's hard to find time for a sit-down breakfast anymore.

"Anything that drips is probably not a good idea," says McKeel Hagerty, whose company provides classic-car insurance.

Hagerty and his staff apparently went the extra mile with food in their lap, determining first hand which foods constituted the biggest hazard for drivers, according to a recent Internet report.

Coffee, they found, is the top offender because of its high spill tendencies.

Others making the Top Ten list include hot soup, tacos, chili, hamburgers, barbecue, fried chicken, jelly or cream-filled doughnuts, soft drinks and chocolate.

Personally, you've got to be a risk taker to try to eat tacos while you're driving.

Such a meal is meant to fall apart and likely will do so all over the interior of your car.

I have eaten my share of burgers in the car, but I'm not brave enough to tackle eating chili or anything with barbecue sauce while behind the wheel.

But just how wide spread is this food distraction problem? An insurance survey in 2000 found that eating while driving ranked as the number two driving distraction, second only to fiddling with the radio tuner.

Kids are a big distraction too. But, as parents, we've learned to accept it.

Insurance companies may worry about drivers chowing down, but, as a dad, I'm more worried about messy kids.

Our daughters, Becca and Bailey, have spilled their share of food in our van over the years, everything from soft drinks to chicken nuggets.

Joni and I recently did some major cleaning on the van's interior. We found food crumbs even under the mats and some sticky chocolate stuff in one of the cup holders.

Bailey, our 7-year-old, still wears a lot of her food even when she's firmly planted at the table. Fortunately, she won't be driving anytime soon.

Becca, who is 4 years older, is less likely to have a messy meal.

As for me, I prefer to eat without the distraction of the open road.

Joni is better at eating while driving than I am. When we're on a trip, she won't let me eat and drive at the same time. She knows I'll drop the burger in my lap and risk creating a serious traffic catastrophe.

With any luck, automakers will take note of our mobile eating habits and design future vehicles with pop-up trays and a vacuum system to suck up any spilled food before it falls into our laps or on the car carpet.

Mark Bliss is a staff writer for the Southeast Missourian.