Smoking at the wheel,gov ROBBING THE MOTORIST AGAIN?

Lauren

Seriously.. can you not go the short time you are driving without a cigarette?

I'm not a smoker but I work all day from 8:30 - 5:15 and if I were a smoker I wouldn't be able to smoke in my office so why should you whinge about not being able to smoke in your car... if you need a cigarette that often, have one before you get in the car and as soon as you get out...

You call us silly sheep or whatever but do you not think you are the sheep for giving into peer pressure in the first place and taking up smoking..

Seriously, you smokers need to stop whinging about your personal rights and think of us non smokers who don't want to get lung cancer from second hand smoke (Roy Castle anyone?) and don't want to get in a car crash with someone who is more bothered about having a smoke than driving safely!

P.S. As for the person who related all non smokers to people who talk on their mobile phones... Anyone who does anything other than drive whilst they are at the wheel of a car is taking a risk and incase you don't know already, talking on a mobile phone whilst driving IS illegal so smoking should be as well!

parker 51

I know the Govt. treats motorists like naughty children but, like others have mentioned, it can be dangerous. I can remember the many times I've dropped the cigarette while driving and then found myself frantically fumbling around trying to locate it in case it started a fire. You are distracted, you at moments,take your eyes of the road, you've got one hand on the wheel .Even if you do see where the ciggy is you have to bend down to try and retrieve it. Believe me, it is dangerous ,not only for you but for the other motorists on the road.

mike.guess

you've never come close to someone crashing in to you when they have been smocking then?

roger.williams20@btinternet.com

I admit that I have always thought that smoking is a distraction whilst driving. As well as having to use one hand to hold the cigarette there is always the possibility that hot ash or even the cigarette itself could fall, causing a severe distraction to the driver. I really think it would be better to make smoking illegal whilst driving rather than leave the situation in limbo and dependent upon how the police view it.
If it is illegal to eat or drink whilst driving then I cannot see how smoking should be regarded differently.

jed slade

Most vehicle fires are caused by smokers,a lot of forest fires also,roadside grass fires,house fires.You still see smoking drivers throwing lit butts out of the window.The anti smoking business would have failed if smokers had behaved properly and considered others and the environment,i used to smoke myself and cannot argue with the results of our actions.

TECHX69

Relax...take a deep breath. I said take a breath not cough your lungs out.

Average Joe

Forget the cigarette, get this guy a cup of coffee, someone needs some caffeine.

What I'd like to see is those who smoke while driving fined for littering more when they toss their cig butts out the window. What do you think, they just disappear???

david backbreaker

we stand for it as we have no brain of our own with which to understand the complicated ways our politicians think, this seems to me the way we tolerate the so called educated people, as an older person i have seen this country go so far down hill, because it seems that there are not enough responsible people, prepared to put themselves in the firing line to complain. To hell with politics, all the government seem to do is ,either tax us or tell us we can't do this or that cos we know better.As a voter is it not best for us to take matters into our own hand and front those idiots who think they know better, by attending there surgeries and making our thoughts known, instead all we do is complain and hope someone else will solve the problem for us. after all the government must know better,[they are educated] we are just the sheep who follow.

Dj' s

They can't even stop the 'Richard heads' that drive whilst using a mobile so how they going to police this then i wonder??

Ps i'm more concerned over the ever rising fuel prices. : )

Bardic

I'd guess you haven't actually read the new Highway Code which is out today. If you had, you'd realise that it does NOT say smoking at the wheel is illegal, it just reminds you that it can be considered as contributing to careless or dangerous driving, or not being in proper control, which always was the case.

PS I'm not saying it isn't daft or even dangerous, just pointing out that this story is floating around a lot today, having suffered from "Chinese Whispers" en route.

Baz

The best way is for all you MOTORIST to get together and not pay your road tax, but you won't you will go on taking it. just so you can stay in your car, and blame us none smokers.

rookethorne

I must admit I'm a non-smoker, but I have no objection to any driver smoking in his/her vehicle.

What I object to most strongly as a motorcyclist, is the inconsiderate arseholes who throw their *** ash out of the window.

Seems a waste of time manufacturers fitting ash trays, or if you are too lazy to use them, perhaps you are also too lazy to drive properly.

By the way, regarding rule148 of the highway code - the paragraph quoted also has the relevant road traffic act and associated legislation quoted in the Highway code, which adds the 'no smoking' ban to public transport vehicles and vehicles used for work, mainly if carrying passengers.

Its also going to be interesting in a few years time how many children sue their parents for the affects of passive smoking.

Leo

Smoker`s, apart from being smelly the do create a lot of litter, just look at any car park and the butts,and packets that litter the area. And to be honest it is a welcome addition to the safety of the driver and the public that you should be driving with all due care and not driving with out care.

choperty

It's simple - if you have a *** in your hand, your not concentrating on your driving.

Its called 'Driving without due care and attention'

washerl

its true it just don`t stop riping now imagine the ones working behind the wheel

EvelynThe ModifiedDog.

I agree entirely. For all the non smokers ( and, I suspect, some non-drivers too ) who've answered this question, let me make this point. Whether you approve or not, smoking is an addiction to a product which is sold legally and taxed heavily in the UK. The actions involved in smoking a cigarette are almost sub-conscious in terms of brain power ( hand-to-mouth, breathe in , breathe out) and cannot be compared to the distraction involved in operating a car's hi-fi, sat-nav, or even reading the speedometer, and as such, pose minimal levels of danger due to distraction.
Anybody who flies or even reads newspapers will know that 'air-rage' incidents have increased massively following a total ban on smoking. Would we not have a similar increase in road-rage if we banned otherwise mild-mannered smokers from getting their fix while driving?
Thinking about this has got me mildly outraged, I'm off to bonfire a Marlboro to calm down!!

vici

or just dont smoke, it all makes me laugh when their is a simple solution then you wont need to complain,

xxx vici

808fl

surly taking your hand off the wheel to change gear,looking at the speedo ,or looking at any dial ,listning for that odd sound that has just come up
ALL DISTRACTIONS
these could be the same as a smoker taking his hand off the wheel to put the cigarette to his mouth but he does not take his eyes off the road while he does this so look at this from both sides before condeming a driver who smokes

Bob the Boat

I thoroughly agree.
I am a moderate smoker, so like a cheroot on a long motorway journey., window partially open.
Also I have a "hands free" 'phone to say I'm running late or whatever.
I set the thing to 70mph on cruise control, and all is well.

I am already taxed to the hilt with "road fund licence",
silly amounts for insurance, and a downright rip-off at the petrol pumps.

Gods, I used to live in Oman, where there is no road tax, insurance is cheap but effective, and a tankful in my silly big TransAm was about Â£10

If they can do it, why can't we ?
It is all tax, more tax and nonesense.

What about a tax on young drivers flying around if they have a "BOOM-BOOM" noise emiting ?

I despair sometimes.

Bob

chenoa

I'm not exactly sure what you mean because lack of complete sentences, but I don't think that the government should take smoking away at the wheel. However, they should take it away and keep it away from public places.

Spartan

if i wanna have a ciggie at the wheel i will and **** the government ,its not an out right ban now but its going to be but they wont be able to in force it just like using mobile phones whilst driving how many people still use them its the non smokers who think its dangerous well get this is its my ******* car i pay tax and insurance and ill do what i want so stay out of my way unless you want a 5.7ltr v8 up your ****.

Lisa

because i would rather agree to it than constantly pay out in fines :(

doesnt mean i agree with it though!!!!

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