ORLANDO, Fla. – News 6 traffic safety expert Trooper Steve Montiero answers viewer questions about the rules of the road every week, helping Central Florida residents become better drivers by being better educated.
Trooper Steve was asked on Thursday, “What does Florida law say about eating or putting make up on or even shaving while driving?”
Could you imagine if there was a law for everything that you should not do while driving? Our law book would be a million times bigger than what it already is.
“As a law enforcement officer, or simply just an adult, I never would have thought I would have to tell someone that putting makeup on while driving or reading a map is not safe,” he said.
He said Florida Statute 316.1925 covers the topic of careless driving and within that statute, it indicates a driver shall drive carefully and in a prudent manner.
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“I like to call this the common sense law. We should not have to tell a driver that applying a full face of make up while cruising down the roadway is not a safe practice or that you should stop your vehicle before striking a stopped vehicle in front of you,” he said.
Trooper Steve said careless driving cannot be defined as one thing, but it needs to be looked at as more of an overall situation.
“I don’t feel that if a driver decided to eat something while driving and still maintain control of their vehicle would be considered careless. However, if the driver decided to utilize both hands while eating a burger and sipping out of a drink, all while cruising, this could be considered extremely careless,” he said. “I struggle with this because I would think if we are doing the most dangerous thing that we will probably do throughout the day, why in the world would we not want to be 100% focused?”
If you have a traffic question for Trooper Steve, email him at asktroopersteve@wkmg.com.
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