Ban smoking in cars

I CONFESS to having the occasional smoke in designated areas and not within the confines of my home, but a complete ban across the board is not practical.

However, I would concur with recent announcements by the Health Minister proposing a complete ban on smoking in any vehicle.

First there are the obvious health issues, especially regarding children locked into a confined space for any length of time.

Also, having dealt with many road accidents in past years, one of the contributing factors which caused the driver to be distracted, thereby causing an accident, turned out to be the driver and/or front seat passenger accidentally depositing a lighted cigarette into their laps or temporarily blinded by cigarette ash, thereby the driver losing control of vehicle – hence the accident, Although this is not to overlook drink and drugs.

For any driver on the long haul there are many opportunities for the smoker, including mobile phone users, to use facilities at service stations or lay-bys.

Kenneth Bowker, Vesper Walk, Huntington, York.

Comments(6)

roclank2000 says...
1:29pm Mon 4 Mar 13

Ban talking in cars - ban my wife, anyway.

Lily02 says...
3:21pm Mon 4 Mar 13

Course is should be banned! Mobile phones as they were a distraction and so are cigarettes, specially dropping it, lighting it up either way your taking your eyes of the road! cant believe it isnt even banned while driving !

Firedrake says...
4:46pm Mon 4 Mar 13

Yes. About 45 years ago, friend of my mother's went off the road into an electricty pylon, killing his passenger. This was a direct consequence of hot ash blowing into his eyes from his cigarette ... and no, it wasn't an open topped car ... just an open window (to let the smoke out, ironically!).

This was by no means an isolated incident and I remain astonished that smoking in cars - especially by the driver - is still allowed.

Richard Feynman says...
8:39pm Mon 4 Mar 13

How many people have died in house fires as a result of smoking cigarettes?

Let's ban smoking in houses!

Hell, let's ban smoking altogether.

And home ownership.

Personal freedom is scary. I need an invasive state to interfere with every aspect of my life; tell me what I can and cannot do, so that I can watch the X-Factor, complain about the weather, shove calorific food down my fat, red face, an aspire to mediocrity.

manfromuncle says...
8:48am Tue 5 Mar 13

I guess I wouldn't expect any other kind of letter from an ex-policeman, who seems to believe that controlling other peoples lives is the way forward.

Every day I see countless people on their phones in cars, this is already illegal and exceptionally dangerous, and the fact that we see them everyday goes to show how the police already ignore this offence, it is pointless making legislation which is impossible to enforce

Education and awareness campaigns have always been more effective at changing peoples behaviour.

Buzz Light-year says...
1:16pm Tue 5 Mar 13

Every day I see countless people on their phones in cars, this is already illegal and exceptionally dangerous, and the fact that we see them everyday goes to show

If we see so many and it is so exceptionally dangerous why don't we see far more accidents?

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