Smoking in cars

[AMGeed]

Not that it affects me, but its illegal, as from today, to smoke in your car if there are any passengers under the age of 18 years old.

I'm all for banning smoking in cars with children inside, but doesn't it smack a little of big brother making the law apply to under under 18's?

Unless I'm mistaken, you can still legally smoke at 16 years old, so the law effectively bans 16 and 17 yr olds smoking in a car if they want even though it's legal if they step outside.
We do have some strange laws these days.

 

[camerafodder]

I think smoking whilst driving (apart from being stupid at any time) is just as dangerous as operating a mobile phone whilst driving. It should be banned on safety grounds.

 

[tec]

I see smokers all the time that are not in proper control of their vehicle.

They are as dangerous as people using phones in my opinion.

 

[AMGeed]

I think smoking whilst driving (apart from being stupid at any time) is just as dangerous as operating a mobile phone whilst driving. It should be banned on safety grounds.

I see smokers all the time that are not in proper control of their vehicle.

They are as dangerous as people using phones in my opinion.

I quite agree. I remember when I used to smoke, hot ash dropping off into my crutch and me flailing away trying not to burn my gentleman's sausage. Highly dangerous.
Best thing I ever did was manage to quit.

 

[Bellow]

Not that it affects me, but its illegal, as from today, to smoke in your car if there are any passengers under the age of 18 years old.

I'm all for banning smoking in cars with children inside, but doesn't it smack a little of big brother making the law apply to under under 18's?

Unless I'm mistaken, you can still legally smoke at 16 years old, so the law effectively bans 16 and 17 yr olds smoking in a car if they want even though it's legal if they step outside.
We do have some strange laws these days.

Either said 16/17 year old is the driver and therefore not a passenger or as a passenger with no other 16/17 year olds present they can smoke.
The anamoly to my eyes is the 16/17 year old passenger smoking while the adult in the car isn't permitted to.

I see smokers all the time that are not in proper control of their vehicle.

With or without a cigarette in hand?

I think smoking whilst driving (apart from being stupid at any time) is just as dangerous as operating a mobile phone whilst driving. It should be banned on safety grounds.

You do not want nicotine deprived drivers on the road! In any case, there is no conversation with a cigarette that requires the concentration that talking on a phone requires. Neither does the head need be thrown back to smoke as it does when consuming a drink. But who would buy a car without cupholders?

 

[BTB 500]

The penalty for this (if caught) is only £50 ...

 

[Dryce]

The penalty for this (if caught) is only £50 ...

So not that much more than a couple of packs of cigarettes ....

 

[Ted]

I've had enough lighted fag ends thrown out of a moving vehicle and into my face to welcome this law as the first stage to banning ALL smoking in cars.

 

[ChrisEdu]

The only thing to smoke should be tyres on the track!

 

[grober]

I think passive smoking in an enclosed space covers it and as such is not at odds with the intention of other related legislation. Of course there are anomalies but the spirit is to protect people with no say= minors ----from the actions of adults = the likeliest scenario . The police have already gone public with the statement that " enforcement of this legislation will be problematic"

 

[camerafodder]

You do not want nicotine deprived drivers on the road! In any case, there is no conversation with a cigarette that requires the concentration that talking on a phone requires. Neither does the head need be thrown back to smoke as it does when consuming a drink. But who would buy a car without cupholders?

You make a good point on nicotine Bellow but they can always stop for a fag break. Lighting a cigarette and then managing the disposal of ash during the smoking event is just as distracting if not more so than taking a drink at the wheel. It also changes the smoker's state of mind, you can actually see this happen on the road. Someone you've been following for miles suddenly becomes distracted and slows down often without warning or visible reason. I've lost count of the times I've seen this over the years, only to overtake and glance to my left to see some poor wretch suckling on a cigarette.

Failing that, think of poor old Ted behind you, weaving around on his bike like a pre race warm up just to avoid discarded fag ends!

 

[ringway]

So, a 17yo driver can pick up four adult and they can all smoke in the car?

 

[MancMike]

So, a 17yo driver can pick up four adult and they can all smoke in the car?

The 17 yo driver can smoke, the 4 adults can't.

 

[markmifsud]

So, would a 17 year old, driving alone smoking get prosecuted?

 

[Deleted member 113659]

I think that this is a great new law. I hate to see a mum & dad smoking around their children. I had it done to me as a kid. It's an awful memory, not just in the car but also at home.

Smelling smoke is one of my pet hates in life. Our 10 year old daughter recently came home from her new friends house and her hair and clothing absolutely stank. Unfortunately she'll not be going there again.

Sorry to any smokers out there, but it's a horrible thing to deal with if you're a non smoker.

Rant over!

Ant

 

[Stratman]

Aren't smokers driving while under the influence of drugs?

 

[Deleted member 37751]

I once worked with a lad who was a chain smoker and one of the clumsiest people I've ever met.

One day he's driving home from a job in his van and just as he's about to pull up outside his house he goes to flick the fag out of the window but it flies back in and lands in the drivers footwell. By this time he'd already taken off his seatbelt by the way. So for whatever reason he's decided to stamp on the fag to put it out but because he's got feet the size of Sasquatch and he's wearing work boots, he stamps on the brake pedal which resulted in him being thrown forward and headbutts the windscreen. As he then stumbled out of his van in a daze, the cigarette that he'd missed with his big clodhoppers had set the carpet alight and the van (with about £10k of tools and materials in) went up in smoke.

He never smoked another cigarette after that day.

 

[MancMike]

So, would a 17 year old, driving alone smoking get prosecuted?

It's simple, it's illegal for the driver of a vehicle to smoke if there are passengers under the age of 18.

A 17 year old driving alone doesn't have anyone under the age of 18 driving with him/her.

As soon as his 16 year old friend gets in the car, it's illegal for the driver to smoke, even if said friend smokes too.

 

[BlackC55]

You have to legally be 18 to buy cigarettes. This law changed from 16 to 18 in 2007.

 

[AMGeed]

You have to legally be 18 to buy cigarettes. This law changed from 16 to 18 in 2007.

Thanks for clearing that up
In my ignorance I still though it was 16

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smoking_age#Europe