Study Finds That Obesity Increases Driver’s Risk of Being In Car Accident: Do You Agree?

I have seen obesity inhibit moving your neck from side to side. It can inhibit your reaction time from gas pedal to braking because your leg is simple slowed due to flab. It can impede the movement of the steering wheel by being "gut stuck." Yeah, it is not good for safety. Not to mention the eating while driving. You think texting is bad. Try looking for the almost hidden console for your Coca-Cola while attempting to gobble the fries you just put on the dash while your Whopper got caught on the wheel after that pickle fell down your.....sigh...Talk to people at a drive-up restaurant window. Obese people can hardly get the money to them or retrieve the change. They have no control of their lunar lander.

I agree with the first part but are you trying to say that texting while driving isn't bad? Plus, not all obese people eat while driving.

Now there's a great idea.

Just trying to have a little fun on SodaHead without weighing every word or statement ad nauseam.

I believe that is possible!

If you are too big then you won't be able to turn the wheel because your stomach is in the way

Obesity increases the chance of a diabetic crash or heart attack at the wheel.

I can believe it.

While severe obesity may pose different challenges for some where driving is concerned, it has nothing to do with one's skill level as a driver. Most accidents are caused by distractions or actions of other drivers on the road. This is a stretch, like the conclusions of most studies!

I do not believe its going to increase or decrease the accident rate. Law of averages are that you are going to get into an accident the more you drive. BEING FAT has nothing to do with it.. Now, getting in and out if your obese is a problem .

Obviously her extra weight
will not effect her ability to
drive safely.

While anything is possible, the article actually points out early that they are talking about morbidly obese people and other people who don't fit the average person proportion cars are designed to. I, in buying my last car had some problem finding a car with enough leg room.

You're saying thyroid problems don't exist? I know people like that that eat healthy, healthier than usual, but can't lose weight. It's not their fault.

It exist but too many people use that excuse. I thought "maybe it's the food industry that puts additives in our food" which they do which makes you gain weight and get sick. Take a look at what people put in their shopping carts when u go to the grocery store and tell me what percentage of their food is fruits and vegetables. Oh and I wonder if they exercise...i'm thin but I work out and eat right so people always ask me if I work out and so I ask them about what they eat and do to stay fit. They don't work out and they eat crazy gross foods i.e. french fries in the morning!

I'm using my mother as an example. When she goes to wal-mart, she hardly comes back with junk food other than a bag of chips sometimes. She NEVER comes back with white rice, white bread, or anything along those lines. She eats tons of fruit almost everyday. She doesn't exercise as much as she should, but like they say healthy is 80% diet, 20% exercise, and she doesn't even eat that bad so there's no reason for her to be that big. You can't just assume that every overweight or obese person eats like a pig and is sedentary when it come to physical activities.

she doesn't exercise that much :/... everyone's body is different so she might need to exercise more or find a different type of exercise that works for her body. I never say "all" people eat like pigs but alot of them do. Maybe there is something else that is preventing her from losing weight

It's probably her age that's making it harder to her to lose weight. Also genetics, every in the family is naturally a bit chubby. & I keep pushing her to exercise....she never does :[

oh I'm not talking about chubby....I've lived in Italy for two years and came back the the United States...never have I seen people so huge in Europe. I'm talking about obese

I have a friend who is an EMS. He was told me horrible stories of really heavy people who are caught or trapped in places (after an accident) that an average sized person would not be. Listen up folks, in these situations you're not only putting your life in danger with excessive weight but also the person who has to save you.

Being a good, defensive driver is more about good reflexes and paying attention - and not doing stupid things (speeding, tailgaiting, running lights).

They may be in more accidents but they survive them. All of that gluttonous fat is a giant cushion.

The operative word here is "could" and anything "could" happen. It is possible but is it probable? Probably not. Instead of telling us what could happen why not provide statistics to back up the claim? It is good fodder for the fat police, tho. Nanny Blomberg probably loves it because he can use it to add to the list of things he would like to make illegal for us to eat. It would be interesting to know how much those who conducted the study were paid and by whom.

Another example of a study from the university of the bloody stupid!

Fully agreed

Wow, people really do need to get a life. I've been obese most of my life and have a clean driving record ... no accidents in my over 34 years of driving due partly to getting out of the way of skinny drivers, lol j/k This is seriously stupid!

I agree! It's like those statistical studies that "prove" that you're more likely to be in an accident or get stopped if you're in a red car! They don't mention pertinent facts like there are way more red cars than any other colour... this is just an example and may not be true!

What they are doing is demonstrating a trend rather than proving a fact.

A trend of an increasing amount of obese people? Well we already knew that >.>

It depends how obese you are. I'm still obese now after losing 75 pounds. Before I lost that weight, the front seat was so far back that I could barely push the brake pedal.

Next it'll be skinny people are too brittle and break more bones...Please, why do we fund these studies? There is the question. Some things are obvious and don't need time and $.

Yeah, I don't think so. You know, as Mark Twain said; "There are lies, damn lies, and statistics."

Amen!

When I was a body builder in the early 80's, I was in 4 car accidents. Since I've put on a little "baby fat", I've not had any car accidents. Someone's got too much time on their hands trying to accuse fat people of enough stuff so that they can justify making more laws to control our intake, or to not pay for the health care of overweight people.

Could roid-rage have played any part in those accidents?

Yes, someone else's road rage, not mine. There was one, & he was arrested. The others were just "accidents", with me causing one due to being in a hurry & not paying attention like I should, one being when a teenager ran a red light, & the other a pizza delivery guy not watching what he was doing. ;-)

You do know that if you're 20 lbs. overweight you're considered obese don't you? So if you gain weight you better have a plan to lose it... I don't believe the study that they did... I think that people that are morbidly obese have problems driving and for the most part they don't drive because they need help...

I agree wholeheartedly.