Is It Legal To Eat And Drive In Arizona?

Long road trips can be a burden. You'll spend hours behind the wheel with nothing but open road in front of you. After a few hours, you'll likely start to feel a slight rumble in your stomach, and do your best to fill that void.

Luckily, the highways are full of fast food joints and convenience stores full of goodies to ease the hunger, but should you take precious time out of your drive to stop and eat?

Is Eating and Driving Illegal in Arizona?

Arizona very famously has a "No-Hands" law (no, not the Waka Flocka Flame song) which states you cannot use a cellular device or anything else while driving, even to take a phone call.

Weirdly enough, this doesn't apply to eating. There is no law against chowing down on a Big Mac and some fries while behind the wheel, meaning you can snack all road trip long with no worries of being stopped by police. Just because it's legal, however, doesn't mean you should.

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Is It Safe to Eat and Drive in Arizona?

While it is technically legal to eat and drive in the state of Arizona, that doesn't make it any safer. Studies by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration have shown that enjoying a treat behind the wheel increases your risk of getting into an accident by up to 80%.

Added to that, it engages all three forms of distracted driving: Visual, Manual, and Cognitive, making this just as dangerous as scrolling twitter or reading a newspaper behind the wheel. If you feel the need to eat while on the road, however, just make sure you're staying safe and still following the rules of the road.

[Grabb & Durando]