Eating in your BMW?
While the days haven’t exactly turned frigid yet, that time of year is rapidly approaching. With cold weather comes the need for hot drinks on frosty mornings, the convenience of drive-through ordering, and spending as little time in the outdoors as possible. What that means is there are quite a few more times during the winter months where we are tempted to consume food and beverages in our BMWs, either during our daily commutes or on road trips to see the family. However, that begs the question: should we eat in our cars? This week, we’re taking a break from more serious content and exploring this pet-peeve of mine to deliver you an answer to that question. | | | | Eating on the Go
Since my E30 lacks cupholders, I don’t have much difficulty preventing myself or others from bringing drinks, or food, into my car. I keep it meticulously clean to preserve the 30-year-old leather and carpet so it continues to look like it did when it was new. It’s something of which I’m quite proud. Naturally, that means sacrificing the convenience of eating or drinking in that car. My daily driver, though, is another story. It has cup holders, all-weather floor mats, and isn’t something I show off like I do my E30. So what’s the harm in snarfing a fast-food meal on a road trip or sipping a coffee on the way to work? | | | | | The Distraction Argument
For a driver, doing anything other than focusing on driving while behind the wheel is pretty dangerous. That sounds obvious, but if it were such a no-brainer, why is it such a prevalent thing? People, plain and simple, don’t look at driving the same as we did decades ago when it was still a relatively new concept. Gone are the days where driving is a singular activity. Now, it’s almost like an inconvenience to most drivers. They feel the need to text, do their make-up, brush their teeth, eat, and all manner of other activities in the car since it is viewed as ‘dead time’ between your departure and destination.
Driving, however, most certainly is not dead time. When we’re behind the wheel, the only thing we should do is focus on driving. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, distracted driving is one of the leading causes of accidents. Naturally, that includes eating. They advise that drivers either eat in their car before they get back on the road or wait until they arrive at their destination to enjoy their meal. I’d like to take it a step further, though, with my next point. | | | | | The Mess Argument
Even if you eat in your car while it is stationary, you’re still almost guaranteed that some crumbs, dribbles, or bits of your meal wind up somewhere other than your face hole. I’d say it’s nearly impossible to eat in your car without spilling something. At the least, you’re going to get some grease or residue on your hands, which will then touch the steering wheel, radio, climate controls, seat belt, door handles, and more. Unless you’re detailing your interior after every meal, that stuff sticks around.
Your BMW interior has plenty of crevices, nooks, crannies, and surfaces that can be invaded by remnants of meals past. If you don’t think about it, you might not be as grossed-out by that as I am, but as soon as you remember all those French fries, burgers, tater tots, and whatever else you’ve eaten in your car, your eyes might turn into dinner plates. All that stuff is still there, in your car, becoming a permanent fixture in your BMW. Even if you can’t smell it, that’s no guarantee someone else can’t either. Your car might smell normal to you, but without deep cleaning, it probably has some lingering odors. | | | | | What To Do About It
First, it is a good idea to have either OEM BMW all-weather mats or WeatherTech mats to keep snow, mud, or accidental beverage spill from ruining your carpet. Next, regular cleaning is imperative. You probably clean the exterior of your car regularly, but how often do you clean your interior? I like to detail mine every three washes, roughly once a month, to keep it looking and smelling fresh. I don’t even like to leave pens, trinkets, or anything in my cars. I keep them completely empty and brand-new looking inside. That’s in part thanks to my ban on any open food or drinks, also because I do clean it regularly. At Turner Motorsport, we have more than just maintenance and performance parts for your BMW. We have a host of detailing products to help you keep your BMW pristine, even through the winter, when things tend to get messy. We suggest you clean it at least once every few months to keep any germs, mold, smells, or stains from ruining an otherwise perfectly good BMW interior, no matter how old your model. A clean car is a happy car, after all. | | | | | | | | | Final Arguments
Even if you have WeatherTech all-weather floor mats, leather interior, aren’t a messy eater and don’t notice any odd smells or stains, you’re probably living in a monument to forgotten meals. Products like WeatherTech are designed as a protective measure, a last line of defense against accidents, but aren’t able to prevent things from slipping into the spaces beside your seats or the little crevices between trim pieces. Without completing a full interior detail, you are not going to be rid of those crumbs and stains. Without issuing a moratorium on all eating and drinking in your BMW, you’re putting yourself at risk for creating a breeding ground for mold and bacteria, as well as an opportunity to be distracted behind the wheel. I argue, then, that it is your duty to ban all eating and drinking in your car. Except for a closed-container of water, I don’t let anything in my car that isn’t sealed and on it’s way to a place where I can eat it worry-free. What about you? Do you allow food in your car under certain circumstances? Do you care? We want to know what you think. Reach out to [email protected] and tell us why you allow food in your car or why not. You might find yourself in a future edition of Turner Motorsport Weekly.
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