Smoking in cars, should it be banned?

[deafgal]

people who don't concentrate well on the road often have to paid a high risk insurance or sometimes lose their license anyway ...depending on how many wreck they got into. but smoking is a distraction, I've seen too many of my relatives panicking over dropped ashes on their lap while driving (afraid they will get burn or catch a fire)

 

[redpoppy]

Talking on phones/texting/reading books/applying make-up wacko is dangerous while driving. Eating and drining (providing there's no fiddly packaging that requires both hands), listening to music and smoking are fine.

When I was driving between 400 and 1000 miles a week to look after my Mum when she had cancer (200 miles away from where I was living and studying) as well as finish my University degree, I was often driving overnight or very early in the morning after little sleep and was exhausted both emotionally and because I was up to my eyes in University work, and had to get it done before lectures. Driving with no music just creates a white noise, which sends people to sleep and was dangerous, so I had the music up loud and sang. I ate in the car as I had no other time to eat inbetween lectures, hospital trips, and sleeping. Smoking kept me awake as nicotine is a stimulant, and the opening of the window also helped, as did teh action of doing something other than keeping both hands on the sterring wheel "at 10 and 2". If I stopped every time I felt hungry or like I needed something to keep me going, I'd have spent most of my degree and my Mums treatment sleeping in service stations rather than getting what I needed to done.

Although if I ever was dangerously tired, I would pull over and sleep. I'm not a martyr and wouldn't put other people's lives in danger. If my cigarettes or CD had fallen on the floor, or the radio wasn't working, I would wait until I had pulled over to fix it. Fiddly food packaging was a no-no, I'd just have to pull over and open it before setting off again. Cigarette was always out of the window so there was no risk of dropping it in my lap.

I guess if there's a group of us in a car we should just sit in silence.. Talking is a distraction, is it not?

Anyway, this is going off-topic. This is about smoking in cars around children, not listening to music or eating. Start a new thread for that maybe?

Stop being so reasonable. That's my job.

 

[redpoppy]

but it is a hazard to society.......maybe its because my nephew has been in a car crash because the driver change the radio station and took his eye of the road for a second......... personally even if it isnt rocket science to be able drive and smoke or whatever......... its a distraction and it only takes a second...........when someone is driving its not just their own life they are risking but pedestrians and other passengers in other cars........so what if drivings boring.... if someone cant concentrate for long enough to get to where they are going then maybe they shouldnt drive..... i think laws should be tighter.

You think if someone can't concentrate they shouldn't drive. How would you legislate for that? And if it's possible why can't we just legislate to stop those people who can't drive and do simple things like eat a bar of chocolate or smoke from driving?

I think it can get extreme. There will be people who have been in accidents when they lose concentration because they are talking to someone. Why don't we ban people driving in cars with other people, or pets, or children. It's not normal to change a radio station and lose awareness of the road. Yes it happens but most people do the fiddly thing where you keep your eyes on the road and give quick glances to the radio. I'm really sorry that your nephew was in an accident but are you seriously suggesting that we remove all radios from cars? Because that's going to be pretty hard sell.

if someone has problems with concentration then yes and no i dont suggest banning radios, switch the radio on before you drive maybe and leave that station playing until its safe to switch channels........????

why does someone NEED to eat/drink behind a wheel is that REALLY neccesary.??????????.........it might not cause an accident then again it might .

i saw someone reading a book behind a wheel once.........is that not just bloody ridiculous or is that another thing a person should be able to do whilst driving?


https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/4788910.stm

You can't compare stuffing food in your mouth to reading a book!!!! why not try and compare smoking to getting a bit of sewing done or perhaps curling your hair? Not all activities are equal.

I'm actually not sure if you're trying to be funny and if you are then I'm sorry for not recognising it.

 

[smelly07]

redpoppy at the end of the day you dont see these things as a risk or a distraction but i honestly do.........if the laws were tightened and if it stopped just one accident then its worth it imo..........doesnt matter how easy driving is or how good you are at multi-tasking it only takes a second of distraction whatever that may be and if those distractions were limited that can only be a good thing.

 

[redpoppy]

redpoppy at the end of the day you dont see these things as a risk or a distraction but i honestly do.........if the laws were tightened and if it stopped just one accident then its worth it imo..........doesnt matter how easy driving is or how good you are at multi-tasking it only takes a second of distraction whatever that may be and if those distractions were limited that can only be a good thing.

But don't you see how that is an extreme view? Would you ban talking to people in the car while you're driving?

 

[Eve]

Its illegal here to smoke in your car if children are present, its also illegal here to talk on a cell phone while driving.
I quite like it personally.

 

[Eve]

Also a friend of mine almost crashed numerous times while trying to light his smoke... It can be dangerous depending on the person.

 

[JASMAK]

Its illegal here to smoke in your car if children are present, its also illegal here to talk on a cell phone while driving.
I quite like it personally.

ditto...i like it too, and it doesn't seem unreasonable...no one is protesting it....

 

[redpoppy]

Its illegal here to smoke in your car if children are present, its also illegal here to talk on a cell phone while driving.
I quite like it personally.

ditto...i like it too, and it doesn't seem unreasonable...no one is protesting it....

\
In regards to children I think that's sensible because it doesn't focus on those who are happily driving along smoking alone in their cars.
As for protests if it applied to all smokers; that's because it doesn't affect most people. Most people don't smoke. Despite my strong views on this am I going to take to the streets or complain to my MP or protest in any way other than tell people i think it's stupid if such laws were passed? NO because it simply doesn't affect me. It doesn't change my life in any way. Not a smidgen.

 

[smelly07]

redpoppy at the end of the day you dont see these things as a risk or a distraction but i honestly do.........if the laws were tightened and if it stopped just one accident then its worth it imo..........doesnt matter how easy driving is or how good you are at multi-tasking it only takes a second of distraction whatever that may be and if those distractions were limited that can only be a good thing.

But don't you see how that is an extreme view? Would you ban talking to people in the car while you're driving?

I dont care how extreme my view may seem, its how i feel.....

No i wouldnt ban talking that can be done without taking your eyes off the road cant it? people just need to use their common sense really.

I'm sure if someone close to you had been hurt in a crash due to someones stupidness you may feel a little different.

parents go to different lengths to keep their children safe but there are idiots on the road that arent driving safely = fact............just because it isnt illegal (yet) to do these things whilst driving.......( although you can be fined or charge with dangerous driving that is down to police discretion) doesnt mean its still not a risk and that its safe.

 

[redpoppy]

Smoking, eating and listening to the radio/cd can be done without taking your eyes of the road. Just like them often talking is not.

 

[Dizzy321]

Yup ban it!! The poor children and babies I have seen inside cars with the windows up fully while mum/dad/granny are puffing away is discusting!! Also it makes the car stink could never buy a second hand car from a smoker!

This ^^

 

[smelly07]

Smoking, eating and listening to the radio/cd can be done without taking your eyes of the road. Just like them often talking is not.

i never said listening to music/cd was an issue...???? i said changing a cd or radio station whilst driving was. also you bought up the talking issue to....... i only have said that anything that can cause a distraction should be illegal, if it can been avoided and is not needed....i.e eating drinking smoking reading applying make up and changing cd's and radios doesnt NEED to be done whislt driving.

if you can be fined for eating and drinking behind the wheel then surely police have seen people and fined people doing it because they have seen their driving as being dangerous whilst doing so.


"The research tells us that somewhere between 25-50 percent of all motor vehicle crashes in this country really have driver distraction as their root cause."
1.2 million people die on the worlds roads every year and this is set to rise by 60% by 2020.........its the leading cause of death amongst people age 3-33.

but yes this thread is going off topic so i will leave it here.........if you want to start another thread about what should people be allowed to to whilst driving apart from.....driving ......i will quiet happily post on it.

https://www.sixwise.com/newsletters/05/07/20/the_6_most_common_causes_of_automobile_crashes.htm

 

[Eve]

I couldnt eat and drink while driving until I had my license for quite some time as I wasnt good at multi-tasking. I know I would have had an accident, but now I can have a coffee or something easy to eat while driving and be okay I just think we need smarter people out there lol...

 

[redpoppy]

I don't mean to upset you and I hope I'm not. I am just debating and other things are relevant because you compare and contrast. You don't NEED to talk when driving either. "It's an emergency! I have to ask you how your day went!!!" Eating/drinking is more of a need than talking. ANd an animated conversation can be far more distracting in my opinion. What if you start to laugh or cry and can't pull over to the side of the road in time?

 

[Eve]

Yep, I've been there too where I was talking with someone and became quite distracted. If I am driving downtown in heavy traffic areas I tend to stop talking and concentrate on what I am doing instead. Back to the original topic, I feel smoking should be banned while driving WITH children only. Without children in your vehicle I don't see a problem with it in general but

 

[smelly07]

I don't mean to upset you and I hope I'm not. I am just debating and other things are relevant because you compare and contrast. You don't NEED to talk when driving either. "It's an emergency! I have to ask you how your day went!!!" Eating/drinking is more of a need than talking. ANd an animated conversation can be far more distracting in my opinion. What if you start to laugh or cry and can't pull over to the side of the road in time?

yeah i agree with you thats my whole point...i dont care which one is more distracting, i think ANYTHING that is distracting shouldnt been done therefore if you cant talk/have a conversation whilst driving then dont do it........you can eat and drink before you drive or stop have a break or wait to you get to your destination before doing so it isnt a NEED whilst driving. changing a radio station or cd isnt a NEED.
Arguments in the car, children playing up is a distraction...... lots of things beyond our control are but its how it is delt with thats the main issue...... knowing what you can and cant do whilst driving that hinders your abilty to drive safely...........its all common sense.

and no your not upsetting me it would take a lot more than that believe me.........i just think its going round in circles............ i think these things are a distraction and dangerous and cause injurys and death and you dont. im not sure how much more we can get out of it now.

 

[redpoppy]

I don't mean to upset you and I hope I'm not. I am just debating and other things are relevant because you compare and contrast. You don't NEED to talk when driving either. "It's an emergency! I have to ask you how your day went!!!" Eating/drinking is more of a need than talking. ANd an animated conversation can be far more distracting in my opinion. What if you start to laugh or cry and can't pull over to the side of the road in time?

yeah i agree with you thats my whole point...i dont care which one is more distracting, i think ANYTHING that is distracting shouldnt been done therefore if you cant talk/have a conversation whilst driving then dont do it........you can eat and drink before you drive or stop have a break or wait to you get to your destination before doing so it isnt a NEED whilst driving. channel a radio station or cd isnt a NEED.
Arguments in the car, children playing up is a distraction...... lots of things are but its how it is delt with.... knowing what you can and cant do whilst driving that hinders your abilty to drive safely...........its all common sense.

But surely education is better than banning those things. I'm not saying I disagree than individuals need to know that anything done whilst driving can be extremely dangerous. I just think passing endless laws over things like this is ridiculous.

Okay so here's an interesting link. The phone ban always has bothered me because I think only an idiot would drive and text (unless in major traffic) and talking on the phone whilst driving is pretty damn easy. Again, only an idiot would do it for long periods of time unless son a straight motorway. However I respect that there are too many people out there unable to do these things and hence the bans are in place to protect us all.

"Research for the study, published Friday, was collected in New York, Washington, D.C., Connecticut, and California. Data was also collected and evaluated from nearby states that do not have such bans, for the sake of comparison. The Highway Loss Data Institute's research indicates that car collision rates didn't change after bans went into effect--and they didn't change for nearby states without such bans, either."

"Indeed, Rader said the study also indicates that even though cell phone usage nationally has exploded over the past several years, and more than 89 percent of the U.S. population owns a cell phone, there has been no uptick nationally in the number of car accidents."

My point being that people will always find something to be distracted by. Its the nature of the human mind. I think Using a phone is far more of a distraction than smoking or eating etc. and yet even with phones this study shows that people are stillo going to find something to distract them.

Driver education is the only way forward.

And I think its fair to ban smoking in any closed area (including cars) where children are present.

 

[smelly07]

Yes driver education is definitely another option............ but surely people should just use common sense right?.....however education doesnt mean that will stop people either though.............. at least if things became 'illegal' and people were fined it may deter some people and if endless laws keep people safe so be it.

If every car accident was on the news every night and the cause of the crash broadcast maybe people would think, you dont hear about things like that........prison sentences arent as extreme if it so happens to involve a car.

i might also add that my uncle was killed by a women driver who came up on to the pavement due to being distracted.....'i only took my eyes of the road for a second' excuse... and knocked him over whilst he was walking home from work............she was let off without any charge whatsoever.

maybe i am slightly bias on this subject.

 

[Eve]

Driver education and harsher punishments. I think drinking and driving for example, should be permanent suspension of license etc... when you get nothing but a slap on the wrist, following the rules seem a lot less important.