HAVE you ever driven home with a take-away and been unable to resist having a bite on the way?

It's hard to keep the wraps on a meal when you're hungry and in an enclosed space with the smell of food wafting around you, but if the police spot you eating while driving you could be prosecuted.

I remember one afternoon when all my customers complained of feeling hungry due to the smell of Indian food in my car.

Earlier that day, a particularly hospitable pupil had invited me in for lunch with her family following her lesson. She piled my plate sky high with the words: "You're too thin", then put a stack of tubs filled with Indian home-cooked goodies in the back of my car.

The next pupil had only gone half a mile down the road before he asked: "Got any spare samosas in there?"

"This isn't a fast food van you're driving, you know," I laughed.

"Oh go on, give us a bite," he begged. "I'm starving."

"Sorry mister. You pay me to feed your mind, not your stomach," I said.

"I can eat your food and drive at the same time," he suggested. "It could be a two-for-the-price-of-one offer!"

He clearly needed putting straight on the matter, so we stopped for a chat. While it is not a specific offence to drive while holding food, as it is to hold a mobile phone, the police can give you a £30 fixed penalty for failing to have proper control of your vehicle even if your driving looks fine.

You may remember the case of a woman who was fined £60 in court earlier this year for driving while eating an apple. National newspapers estimated it cost Northumbria police thousands of pounds to prosecute her due to the cost of aerial photos and video footage taken from a police helicopter.

She was convicted for not being in full control of her vehicle as she took a left turn while holding an apple in her right hand even though she drove perfectly around the corner.

I don't approve of munching on the move because I believe safe driving demands both hands on the wheel and both eyes on the job as much as possible.

Ask yourself, is it really worth taking the risk? Imagine trying to explain to someone you had just run over that you didn't see him crossing because you were eating. You would end up in court with egg on your face and the lawyers would have you for breakfast!

Audrey Wixon is director of Wycombe Driving School www.wycombedrivingschool.co.uk