Can South Carolina drivers be stopped for eating while driving? Here’s what the law says
Drivers in South Carolina can be ticketed for driving while distracted, but whether “distracted” includes eating a burger or simply taking one’s eyes from the road remains unclear.
Palmetto State motorists are generally prohibited from driving while interacting with anything that may take their attention from the road. But the list of specifically restricted “distractions” only includes cellphones, which can still be legally used hands-free, while using a navigation app or in cases of a call to emergency services.
The South Carolina Highway Patrol says traffic stops involving distracted driving typically stem from be-on-the-look-out calls or BOLOs after a driver commits a traffic violation, such as swerving into another lane, and they rarely involve a trooper observing someone looking down at a potential phone or food item.
Corporal Tyler Tidwell, a spokesperson for the South Carolina Highway Patrol, said traffic stops must involve some type of traffic violation.
“You know, if I say, ‘Hey, I pulled you over because you were looking down,’ well how does that sound?” Tidwell said.
“If you think of it in that sense, we want to try to at least find a (traffic) violation also. So, if we can observe them looking down for a period of time ... hopefully they’ll straighten up or either see us and then discontinue what they’re doing.”
Under current South Carolina law, drivers are not allowed to use cellphones outside of a hands-free mode unless the driver is in the process of using the device to navigate between destinations or contacting law enforcement.
That means, if a police officer in South Carolina sees a driver eating while driving down the highway, that officer lacks the probable cause to stop that driver in most cases unless the motorist is committing a traffic violation, such as speeding or infringing on multiple lanes.
But because even legal distractions, such as eating or looking down at a map on a phone, may increase a driver’s risk of driving erratically or causing an accident, these actions can also spur a traffic stop and citation.
Georgia and California are the only two states that subject drivers to a traffic citation for eating while driving.
