Lawyer dishes on laws around eating and drinking while driving

We’ve all been there: deep into a long drive, you suddenly feel the overwhelming sense that you don’t just want to eat; you need to.

You may be tempted to pull over into a service station and pick up some fast-food favourites, or just a bottle of water to keep the grumbling hunger pangs at bay.

But did you know that guzzling juice or eating snacks behind a car wheel could land you in four figures’ worth of trouble?

Motoring solicitor Stephen Oldham recently took to YouTube to settle the record on what can happen if you eat and drink whilst operating a vehicle.

When asked if you could get in trouble if you’re caught munching, the expert, who goes by the moniker The Driving Solicitor Co UK, said: “The answer, as always with lawyers, is yes and no.”

Eating and drinking in your car could land you a serious fine (Getty Stock Image)

“There is no specific law in England and Wales or anywhere else in the UK for that matter, that says you must not eat, drink or smoke while you are driving.

"So you can never be charged with that as a specific offence.”

Eating and drinking in a car may violate laws

However, he claimed that if eating, drinking or smoking ‘affected the standard of your driving ’, then you may face ‘two potential offences’.

The first is driving without due care and attention, an offence under Section 3 of the Road Traffic Act 1988.

Secondly, chowing down on a KFC burger or slurping a Wingstop milkshake may also put you in breach of Regulation 104 of The Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986 and Section 41 of the Road Traffic Act 1988.

The car is apparently Gen Z's favourite place to eat (Getty Stock Image)

Violating the latter could land you on a driver awareness course, a £100 fixed penalty, and three points on your licence.

If the case went to court, an unlimited fine could be imposed. You may also recieve between three and nine points or disqualification from driving.

"The other offence you could commit is not being in proper control of your vehicle,” Oldham said.

Once again, anyone found breaching the law could get a fixed penalty of £100 and three points.

If the case went to court, a maximum fine of £1,000 may be imposed.

Judges may bestow three penalty points and may also ‘disqualify’ offenders from driving.

‘Extremely unlikely’ that you will be charged

Despite his warnings, the solicitor explained that it was ‘extremely unlikely’ that anybody would be charged so severely for eating or drinking behind the wheel.

"Although you could have committed either of those offences, I have to say it is very very rare that anyone is charged with either of those offences if they are caught eating, drinking or smoking,” he stated.

"But it could happen, so if you're eating, drinking or smoking while driving a vehicle, you should be extremely careful."