Do you agree that drivers should be banned from smoking in their own cars?

Mr. Taco

Three questions here.

#1: No. Drivers should not be banned from smoking in their cars.
#2. No. I don't agree. If smoking ever becomes illegal, then fine, but as it stands smoking is legal, and people have a right to do it in their own private space. I suppose you can argue that someone can drop a cigarette and get in a wreck, but the truth is that cigarettes cause a very small proportion of accidents. Where does the government's attempts to control our behavior stop? And how would we pay for the enforcement of such a law anyway? Cops have enough trouble without adding this to their long list of things they could never accomplish in a day for such cruddy pay.
#3. It shouldn't. See above.

And no, I am not a smoker. Keep the smokers' cancer sticks out of public buildings, but let them do whatever the heck they want when they are in their cars. This law is not going to save enough lives to make it worth it.

Sir Sidney Snot

We should ban the Government from coming up with nanny state crappy laws!

lou b

Jeez.....it will be our OWN HOMES next. Enough.

Chippie

No of course not.

But then, I don't agree smoking should be banned at all.

Sorry, I mean if they are doing it because of the smoking aspect of it rather than the distraction aspect.

malibugirl

I am not a smoker, but even so I do not agree that it should be banned. What people do in their own cars is up to them isnt it? Im sure the cigarettes smoked in other peoples cars are not damaging peoples health as much as the exhaust fumes are! It could never be enforced anway. What would you do, have police cars following every car all day to check that they are not "breaking the law"?

capa-de-monty

yes any one caught taking their hand off the steering wheel for any reason should have their hands chopped off and hung by one leg over the motorway all in the interest of safety

kier

Im from Ireland which has a nationwide ban on smoking in all indoor public places (Pubs, Office Blocks, Supermarkets etc.) This ban is supported by a huge majority of the population (including myself) according to surveys. But In the privacy of your own car there should not be a ban on smoking in my opinion. In your own private property you should be allowed smoke.

Joseph S

I think if the government pays for the car that the person is driving then they can decide whether or not you can smoke in it.If a person has paid for it themselves then its thier property and thier decision whether they smoke in it or not.do you not think that is madness from the government?

Zach

No, what people do in their own car, as long as it doesn't majorly effect their ability to drive, shouldn't be changed. Granted, I don't smoke, but I know that Michigan traffic can be horrible, and I know some people who 'need' a smoke to calm down.

And while there are people that want to ban smoking because it's like a person talking on a phone, by taking their hand off the wheel, why don't we ban eating in the car, drinking in the car, changing the heat/AC, and changing the radio? Those all cause you to take your hand off the wheel. I dunno, that's just my opinion.

fivetoze

plod would enforce it, its easier to catch motorists than it is criminals... they could sit on their fat ar ses and wait for you....

donna_honeycutt47

Its getting to the Point where Our Government is constantly telling Americans what they can and cannot do. Americans do NOT have any rights anymore. Cigarettes are Not illegal and what a person does in or on his own property is His Business.

bill a

No.

Katie

No i think that would be taking it a little too far - there would be lines and lines of traffic with people stood on the roadside puffing away!!

Just think of the motorway madness!

g_davis58

No, I do not agree. What I do in my car or home is no ones business, but mine. But on the other hand the ones that throw their butts out the window, instead of using the ash tray should be ticketed and fined!

Tracey

no i dont agree

mesun1408

Sure why should us pedestrians be the only ones to be miserable!

susienlucy

NO!!!

mystiKal

Well, if your car is parked and your taking a smoke break, i dont think the government can do much to ban that, as it is private property and to a certain extent, we need to have our own freedom to choose whether or not we want to light up. They can raise the ciggarette prices, ban smoking in 80% of restaurants and cafes, have multiple smoking campaigns but at the end of the day people have to be smart enogh to make their own choice. But when it comes to their own homes and their own cars, we really can't force them to choose between saving money or lung cancer.

rowdy

Yeah - and while we're at it let's ban changing gear, applying the handbrake, carrying passengers in case they speak to you, opening the window, closing the window, listening to the radio, turning the wipers on, scratching your nose, making hand signals, adjusting the heater, turning your lights on or off,.........

bikernoj

No, but they should be given a ticket for littering when they toss the butt out the window. After 10 tickets, they need to be punished with the same severity as companies that dump biological and/or chemical waste into the environment, as butts are full of chemicals and DO NOT decompose.

dels replies

It's one of the next steps isn't it after the smoking in enclosed area ban and the not using mobile phones by drivers being illegal.Not smoking in cars would be nothing to do with health issues but purely road safety . If it is unsafe to use a phone,it must also be unsafe to root about in your pockets for the cigarettes, open the packet, extract a cigarette and put it in your mouth, go through the same motions to find your lighter or matches ,light the cigarette and all this without taking your eyes off the road and at the same time holding the steering wheel and maintaining control at all times.IT is a dangerous cycle of actions.It would be a job to enforce a no smoking rule.Would a passenger be allowed to smoke?Would a passenger be allowed to light a cigarette and then place it in the drivers mouth?As regards mobiles they are only illegal to use in a car if it is the driver who uses it. It is legal for a passenger to use the phone and relay the message to the driver.The answer may be that it is not legal to travel alone. You must have a companion.The mind boggles, where does it all end.

Unknown

I am not sure if you mean the british government or not. But my opinion is for safety yes it makes sense and smoking could prove as a distraction whilst driving, but compared with mobile phones as you don't attually have to concentrate to smoke its probably not as bad. (i personally don't smoke)

From a health point of view theres not a strong enough arguement to enforce a ban like that, as it only effects a small group of people. However I feel anyone who plans to light up a ciggerette in a car should always ask the other passengers first out of courtesy, after all they might be concerned about their health and not want to smell like an ash tray at the end of the journey.

uzzy n

err yeh

Buffalo Gal

I think people should be allowed to do whatever they want as long as it doesn't affect anyone else. Does smoking effect others? That's the $20,000 question. I don't smoke and I WANT people to smoke in their cars but with the windows rolled up. I have asthma really bad and I'm always stopping at a red light and struggling to close my window cuz the guy/girl next to me is smoking with their hand out the window causing their smoke to drift into my car. I wonder how much damage smokers do to their kids. I don't think they will ever know due to the fact there will never be enough funding to research why these kids have so many health problems, asthma being one of them. I wish nobody smoked but if they want to kill THEMSELVES, go for it....but not me. sry...

curlywurly

you are only banned from smoking in a works car.i.e. driving instructor or taxi or works van. they cant ban you from smoking in your own car anymore than they can ban you from smoking in your own house

Ross s

I'll stop smoking behind the wheel when they ban cell phones, eating, doing your hair, reading , and all the others i see every day.....I do agree that no smoking should be in place if children are involved, because they are captive little people.

?Gems?

Well it think its wrong to smoke whilst driving... just like a mobile phone.. 1 hand on the wheel..

(I dont think it should be banned for the reason of the smoking ban i just think its dangerous)

Dave T

Well, we can ban use of cell phones in cars without headsets, which I think is reasonable because there are some people that can't talk and drive with one hand. I'm guilty of that, but I have a headset in case that becomes a law in my state.

Smoking has the same risk, and maybe even more considering that if you drop your smoke then a number of things could happen to cause you to have a wreck. Smokers would argue that their car is a personal space and would infringe on their rights. I agree with that too, even though the law would make the roads safer.

I believe, in order to get around that arguement, there should be a heavily enforced law against one-handed driving, unless you only have one hand. That would take care of the cell phone users as well.

dudechaos

yea cause it can cause a wreck

UCANTCME

NO ITS THEIR CAR SO LET THEM DO WHAT THEY WANT, MAYBE YOU SHOULD GET A REAL JOB SO YOU DON'T HAVE SO MUCH TIME WORRYING ABOUT SMOKING IN A CAR.

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