ban smoking in cars

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joescrivens

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Heard on the radio today that they are discussing in parliament the idea of banning smoking in a car due to the harm it does to passengers

One listener rang in and said:

"It's up to the passenger if they get in the car with the smoker or not"

NOT WHEN THAT PASSENGER IS 8 MONTHS OLD IT ISNT!!!!!!!!

Personally I would vote for the ban. I grew up with a smoking parent and I used to dread being in the car when my mum would pollute my air with the stink of smoke.

You would think that a parent would act responsibly for the health of their children wouldn't you but it so often doesn't happen. I have no problem with smoking in the car if your passenger is of an age to make that choice whether to get in or not but when they are children it's not fair for them.

Could a ban of smoking in the car if the passengers are below a certain age work?
 
I think its a load of carp they cant stop you smoking in your own car, not as we do anyway, but its ridiculous how can they enforce that,

OK I agree refraining when theres children or non smokers in the car thats fair enough, for those that do smoke in their cars

I wouldnt stop smoking in my campervan as thats my home when out touring
 
I really dont see how it could work? The car is your property and I would be annoyed as hell if I couldnt do something like that. Using a mobile is banned but people still do it, although that has safety implications (different argument but I think either get rid of ban or ban handsfree too as that is just as distracting). If someone has the window open how different is that to smoking outside? Also, if we encourage people to smoke less then they will live longer... and pay less in fag tax! Ok, they need treatment on NHS but I would hazard a guess that a smoker dying at 70 costs less than a normal person dying at 90! as there is 20 years less other healthcare & pension to pay. In truth if smoking stopped overnight we would be in a worse position!

As a non-smoker though, and someone who things the smoking ban was the best bit of legislation for years, i find it disgusting how people smoke with kids in the car. Honestly, that is child cruelty to me. Are these people stupid or just dont care? But to be fair, these people will probably smoke in the lounge at home anyway so the child is still exposed to it so will it actually do anything?
 
boliston said:
It would be impractical to police.

The logical conclusion to this would be to extend the ban to peoples homes!
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a persons home is a lot bigger than the inside of a car which is what's leading to the debate.

I agree it would be hard to police it though, I just have sympathy for all those children with irresponsible parents
 
If your not allowed to be on your phone you shouldn't be allowed to smoke! Smoking while driving is a distraction! And I have front line experience of this!

It should be banned!

Jordan
 
cambsno said:
If someone has the window open how different is that to smoking outside?
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Next time you are driving at 70 mph open your window and spit out of it as hard as you can, that will answer your question. Oh but make sure you have a hankie ready :)

cambsno said:
But to be fair, these people will probably smoke in the lounge at home anyway so the child is still exposed to it so will it actually do anything?
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as above. the size of the inside of a car is much smaller than that of a room in a house - plus if the child is of a particular age, they have the choice of moving to another room, unlike being stuck in a car
 
Bloody health fascists at it again,I only smoke in the car when I am on my own and with the window open so it doesn't smell like an ashtray for any passengers at other times.And for all those in favour of a further ban just remember our taxes pay for the NHS 4 or 5 times over so if we all gave up tomorrow your taxes would go through the roof
 
Weve never smoked in the car and when at home only in one room or the garden, but we do smoke in our campervan, not whilst driving though, and no children ever come camping with us, so the ban wouldnt bother us whilst we were in transit, but we wouldnt stop smoking in the back of the camper,

I never answer my phone or eat whilst driving either
 
They've already enforced this in Australia - no smoking if there are kids in the car. Not too sure what the penalty is though - possibly an on-the-spot fine?

On a slightly different note, they already have banned smoking at home if workmen are coming to do a job. They have the right to refuse to do the job, if memory serves me correctly...
 
neil_g said:
if anything it should be banned like using a mobile phone. its just as bad as a distraction.
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jordanogrady said:
If your not allowed to be on your phone you shouldn't be allowed to smoke! Smoking while driving is a distraction! And I have front line experience of this!

It should be banned!

Jordan
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Along with car Radio / CD Players, Satnavs and Passengers?????

They're all as much of a distraction as each other in my book it's a ridiculous argument.......


Surely there are more important things for the government to be worrying about than this? I'm sick to death of successive governments treating us all like idiots and trying to bully/legislate away freedom of choice !!!!
 
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another point, if its a company car or a personal car used in work hours then smoking is already banned.

work wanted us to put no smoking stickers in our personal cars until they got the backlash :lol:
 
yep, lets just ban smoking altogether, anywhere and everywhere then we can have it all go underground, totally unregulated just like illegal drugs - how very sensible. :cuckoo: which btw is where this would lead eventually if the anti-lobby got their way this time


Seriously, do our police not have enough stupid rules to enforce - look at the number of people that flout the mobile phone rules, enforcement is random at best because you can never watch every driver all the time and cigarettes would be even harder. So far I haven't heard of any accidents being caused by someone lighting up, though I have no doubt cases do exist but I bet the genuine figures [as opposed to any well kneaded stats politicians may be throwing around] are miniscule and smoking does not distract the attention in the way talking on a phone does, simply because its something that is done without actually thinking about it.

I also think that 'most' people these days are much more considerate of passengers and kids, yes there will always be a minority that just don't bother but seriously, stopping people smoking in their own property [car or house for that matter]?
 
CaptainPenguin said:
Bloody health fascists at it again,I only smoke in the car when I am on my own and with the window open so it doesn't smell like an ashtray for any passengers at other times.And for all those in favour of a further ban just remember our taxes pay for the NHS 4 or 5 times over so if we all gave up tomorrow your taxes would go through the roof
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But your car does smell like an ashtray, it is because you smoke you cannot smell it. Fact!
 
yoby said:
Along with car Radio / CD Players, Satnavs and Passengers?????
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yup, all of those are a distraction. satnavs are definately just as bad as phones.

as an ex smoker ive lost track of the times a fag butt and/or ash hasnt gone out the window properly and ended up in my crotch or back seat so yes they are a pretty bad distraction.
 
yoby said:
Along with car Radio / CD Players, Satnavs and Passengers?????

They're all as much of a distraction as each other in my book it's a ridiculous argument.......


Surely there are more important things for the government to be worrying about than this? I'm sick to death of successive governments treating us all like idiots and trying to bully/legislate away freedom of choice !!!!
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:agree: couldn't have said it better myself....in fact I didn't, so quoting you instead :D
 
Yv said:
So far I haven't heard of any accidents being caused by someone lighting up, though I have no doubt cases do exist but I bet the genuine figures [as opposed to any well kneaded stats politicians may be throwing around] are miniscule and smoking does not distract the attention in the way talking on a phone does, simply because its something that is done without actually thinking about it.
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for me it's not about it being a distraction it's about consideration for the child in the car. As neil said, it's basically child abuse. Since child abuse is illegal then why isn't subjecting them to second hand smoke when they can't escape also illegal?
 
neil_g said:
yup, all of those are a distraction. satnavs are definately just as bad as phones.

as an ex smoker ive lost track of the times a fag butt and/or ash hasnt gone out the window properly and ended up in my crotch or back seat so yes they are a pretty bad distraction.
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:lol: see that's where you need to understand the aerodynamics! ;) Only one window open only an inch or two [two seems to create a sort internal 'vortex' that sucks it straight back in] and always chuck at door mirror height, the swirling air takes it off slightly away from he car. I hate the people that chuck from top back corner of window, if you are driving, by default you have to take your attention away from the road to do it :suspect:
 
joescrivens said:
...it's basically child abuse. Since child abuse is illegal then why isn't subjecting them to second hand smoke when they can't escape also illegal?
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Because they're too young to buy their own? ;)
 
Seriously, I get tired of counting the people on mobile phones driving - for miles, negotiating roundabouts, joining motorways, changing lanes etc., not to mention the numbers of red traffic light jumpers I see every day. I wonder how many of the 'ban smoking in cars' brigade there are among those people?

No-one appears to be policing these potentially highly dangerous offences, so why do we think smoking would be any different? :shrug:
 
Yv said:
:lol: see that's where you need to understand the aerodynamics! ;) Only one window open only an inch or two [two seems to create a sort internal 'vortex' that sucks it straight back in] and always chuck at door mirror height, the swirling air takes it off slightly away from he car. I hate the people that chuck from top back corner of window, if you are driving, by default you have to take your attention away from the road to do it :suspect:
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:lol:

rollies are the worst when they get stuck to your finger.. :suspect:

if you can get done for eating or drinking while driving i dont think its unfair to have the same punishment for smoking, its the same action after all.
 
We are not asking to ban smoking....just asking for smokers to be more considerate of a filthy disgusting habit. :gag:
 
yoby said:
Along with car Radio / CD Players, Satnavs and Passengers?????

They're all as much of a distraction as each other in my book it's a ridiculous argument.......


Surely there are more important things for the government to be worrying about than this? I'm sick to death of successive governments treating us all like idiots and trying to bully/legislate away freedom of choice !!!!
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Correct! Having kids in a car is distracting. the only way to be safe is to ban music and devices like sat navs in cars, advertising hoardings and to have 1 person per car! But accidents will still happen!

Also, ban women from roadside especially those is skirts. Went into the back of someone at 17 eyeing up a girl from college!! Thats a distraction.
 
joescrivens said:
for me it's not about it being a distraction it's about consideration for the child in the car. As neil said, it's basically child abuse. Since child abuse is illegal then why isn't subjecting them to second hand smoke when they can't escape also illegal?
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perhaps read my earlier post? I certainly don't smoke if a child is in the car [though fortunately that is a very rare occurence for me] and I don't think there are a huge number that do now. Yes there will always be a minority, but do we really need a rule for this? As a country aren't we already bogged down by rules and red tape?
 
Yv said:
Seriously, do our police not have enough stupid rules to enforce - look at the number of people that flout the mobile phone rules, enforcement is random at best because you can never watch every driver all the time and cigarettes would be even harder. ]?
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by that logic we might as well do away with the speed limits and parking laws - after all people break them all the time and get away with it :shrug:

That said the offence of driving without due care and attention already exists - so the police could take action against anyone doing anything that distracts their attention from the road ( I saw a bloke yesterday driving while either surfing the net or watching a film on a tablet held in the middle of the wheel !! - okay we were in a slow moving traffic jam , but i was still glad he was next to me rather than behind me) so imo we dont need new laws , we just need to enforce the laws we have.
 
neil_g said:
:lol:

rollies are the worst when they get stuck to your finger.. :suspect:
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...not only that but it's bloody difficult to steer with your knees as you roll one...

:suspect: :exit: :lol:
 
Seriously - The kind of people that will happily chain smoke with babies or small children in the car are also the kind of people that would flagrantly ignore any ban anyhow. It's a moot point given that the majority of the (not many) smokers left these days are much more considerate than that anyhow.

Personally I think it's just part of a cunning plan to reduce traffic on the roads, as all the smokers will be parked up in lay-bys for a quick fag break...... ;)
 
yoby said:
Along with car Radio / CD Players, Satnavs and Passengers?????

They're all as much of a distraction as each other in my book it's a ridiculous argument.......


Surely there are more important things for the government to be worrying about than this? I'm sick to death of successive governments treating us all like idiots and trying to bully/legislate away freedom of choice !!!!
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Like I said, i've seen it front line! I'm a firefighter, i'm not arguing about passive smoking or anything like that, i'm talking about causing crashes from smoking! Yes accidents happen, I know, I just personally don't agree with smoking in cars while driving! A burnt fag been dropped or accidentally thrown into the back seat instead of out the window, causes a little bit more panic than dropping a CD in the car! Don't you think?

Each to their own, But I disagree completely, and it should be banned! You still see t0$$ pots driving round on their mobile phone :bonk: big posh cars, and they can't afford £100 for a hands free kit, yet they will risk the life of others, and risk getting a £70 fine from the police!

Jordan
 
They could have a special bit of the road for people who want to smoke whilst driving, perhaps call it a 'Filter lane'. :coat: :lol:
 
yoby said:
Seriously - The kind of people that will happily chain smoke with babies or small children in the car are also the kind of people that would flagrantly ignore any ban anyhow. It's a moot point given that the majority of the (not many) smokers left these days are much more considerate than that anyhow.
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I agree with you on this one!
 
The whole distraction argument gets on my nerves a bit. Fair enough with hand held mobiles and such. But some people start on with the whole satnavs and hands free too that they shouldnt be used as they are a distraction. In that case, ban car radios, as they must also be a distraction or dont have any passengers in case they talk to you and distract you too. The UK is apparently supposed to be the safest in europe as far as road safety and general care so no real need to tighten it up anymore.

I smoke in my car, but i pay enough road tax, petrol tax and insurance for me to stick 2 fingers up at them. I don't smoke when my son is in the car so I think this is another government annoyance to stick their nose in and yet again tell people what to do and take our freedom of choice away from us.
 
neil_g said:
:lol:

rollies are the worst when they get stuck to your finger.. :suspect:

if you can get done for eating or drinking while driving i dont think its unfair to have the same punishment for smoking, its the same action after all.
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yes, but then I don't think its fair that you can get done for either of those too, I don't think any of them are as distracting as cd systems and sat navs or indeed passengers, especially the little ones! So where do you draw the line?

...I have lost count of how many times I see cars with sat navs plonked right on top the dash board immediately in front of the driver and it annoys the hell out of me, you can't even SEE the bloody road with it there. Same thing goes for the dangly things people have hanging from mirrors, the peripheral vision isn't faultless and a child running from the side of the road could so easily register in the mind as that dangly thing and you don't quite react as quick as you might have done... so should just everything be banned?
 
jordanogrady said:
I agree with you on this one!
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Drive past your nearest primary school at chucking out time to see this is not the case....it is incredible the amount of parents fagging at the gates then only to get in their cars with the kids in tow still puffing away....I live opposite a primary school so I see this all the time.
 
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