Automatic gearshifts, cruise control, power steering - we have it now. It should make things easier, but ironically despite our evolution we, as the human race, have not evolved behind the wheel of the automobile. We're still terrible drivers. I'm sure you witness it daily... we're still driving into each other... regularly!

Not a day goes by that I don’t see someone navigating the road - poorly I might add - while trying to do a second activity. Most notably that activity is chattering on a mobile phone, but most disgruntling to me are those that attempt to eat while driving. It saddens me when I peer in my rear-view mirror and spy a fellow motorist trying to gorge a burger - usually in between gear change two and three. I really fail to understand it, because eating is such an obvious distraction from driving. People are dying regularly in car accidents and we still seem to be confident to take the gamble of controlling a body of metal at 160km/h while tucking into a bag of French fries. If the driver were meant to eat, the steering wheel would come equipped with a built-in plate that would flip down to catch the crumbs!

Also, it must take the skill of a mighty individual to eat a burger with one hand - I would know after being granted small hands and require both of them to prevent hot lettuce and mayonnaise from dripping onto my lap. It also seems that we forget that driving is a two handed activity – that’s why you fail your drivers test if you decide to slap one arm out the window to tap out the beat of your favourite song on the side panelling. If an emergency happens you don’t want a greasy chicken pie to be the reason you couldn’t turn the wheel that extra few degrees.

Something else I have noticed about contemporary drive-snacking is the decline in eating as a social activity. Eating is something you should take you time with, savour it, taste it, enjoy it – it’s one of the few pleasures left in a busy world. Don’t cram your face in the 5 minutes you have between getting from the doctor’s office to the meeting in the conference centre across town. Take the extra fifteen minutes to sit down, relax and enjoy the selected nourishment you have either prepared or purchased (and that also goes to all those folks who eat hunched over their keyboards at the office!). The world is not going to come to an end, plus (despite me having no medical qualification) I am quite darn sure it is healthier to eat slower and let your food actually digest instead of treating your throat like a sausage maker. A midday meal also gives you the opportunity to socialise. By sitting down (in a restaurant or a park, it matters not where) you have the opportunity to indulge in a conversation, to enjoy the company of a loved one, or to broaden your horizons – if only for 10 minutes.

My point is that we don’t drive well to begin with, yet still feel we can juggle activities while behind the wheel.  I won’t even begin with smoking (how desperate are you for a cigarette that you are puffing away in an enclosed, almost airtight space?) I would also make a comment about drinking beverages, but the convenience of the cup holders shuts me up. For heavens sake, one of the main selling features of a new car are the air bags, crumple zones and strength of the seat belts! The fact that we need all those features shows that we still have a long way to go.

Unfortunately, I know in my nagging soul it won’t change, but I thought I would at least give it a bash because I don’t see anyone making any robot cars…