I think you're lucky a little kid wasn't riding her bike behind your unit at the time. Your partner could've killed her over a cup of coffee. My service prohibits providers from eating or drinking while behind the wheel. I would have been terminated if I had done what your partner did.
While preparing this response, I asked my electronic partner, the esteemed researcher Miss www.Google.com, to find some facts for me. My electronic consultant retrieved some interesting stuff within five seconds of my request. I found most interesting an article titled, "The Most Dangerous Foods to Eat While Driving" by Liz Strillacci (www.insure.com).
Strillacci says some insurance guys got tired of paying claims to jerks who continually get distracted while eating in their cars and plow into innocent folks stopped in front of them. So they did some research and learned some good lessons I thought I'd pass on to you.
Not that it's a surprise to anyone, but recent surveys by insurance companies and data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) report that eating while driving is one of the most distracting things you can do. NHTSA doesn't track specific information on food-related distractions, but it does track what they call general distractions.
As of 2000, distractions caused 25% of police-reported motor vehicle crashes. NHTSA says "distraction was most likely to be involved in rear-end collisions in which the lead vehicle was stopped and in single-vehicle crashes." In 2000, tuning the radio was the No. 1 driving distraction that resulted in a collision. Eating while driving was No. 2.
Here are the 10 messiest and most distracting food offenders listed by the insurance researchers:
1. Coffee;
2. Hot soup;
3. Tacos;
4. Chili;
5. Hamburgers;
6. Barbecue;
7. Fried chicken;
8. Jelly or cream-filled donuts;
9. Soft drinks; and
10. Chocolate.
Coffee tops the offender list, not just because it always leaks out of those poorly designed "spill-proof" lids, but because it scalds your chest, arms, legs and crotch when it does leak. I've even thought about draping a sterile burn sheet across my lap the next time I'm drinking a piping hot Starbucks venti latte in our unit. That way, if my partner screws up behind the wheel and hits a bad bump or a shopping cart in the middle of the road, causing me to spill some hot java in my lap, I'll be set. All I'll have to do is cool the wound with a bottle of chilled water I store in the cooler between the seats, leave the burn sheet in place and head to the burn center.
Coffee, hot soup and carbonated beverages are logical offenders for spills while you're driving. But in reviewing claims and police reports, the insurance folks found that food that falls apart or drips (e.g., tacos and chili) also causes you to do stupid things in reaction to the falling food.
Greasy foods or chocolate-coated fingers can also cause crashes. The insurance wizards found that as people lick their fingers or try to clean the grease or chocolate off the steering wheel, they often swerve and plow into something.
When drivers are munching on a cheeseburger or other luscious, distracting delight, they're more likely to screw up and crash if they come on an unexpected occurrence of events, such as a sharp curve or a driver stopped ahead of them.
In a 2001 survey of 1,000 drivers employed by Exxon, more than 70% said they eat while driving, up from 58% in 1995. Eighty-three percent say they drink coffee, juice or soda while driving, and a few even say they'd love to have a microwave in their vehicle. That's really what I want to hear from a guy who's hauling 5,000 gallons of gasoline.
Your partner needs to suck it up, take his three days off without whining and be glad he didn't lose his job. In the future, do what our crews do. If you have to eat on the run, wait until you're parked to dig in. If you have to chow down while the rig is moving, eat while your partner drives. When you're done, have your partner pull over so you can drive for a while and let him eat his meal.
