jim Posted December 12, 2011 Share Posted December 12, 2011 Interesting spectrum of opinions, I have to say I'm surprised at the level of support for a ban because to me the idea is ridiculous. I'm a smoker, have been for as long as I've been a driver and I'd say I smoke more in the car than anywhere else. I use my ashtray though as littering is a pet hate. I've been driving twenty years and (touch wood) have never had an accident. I don't believe smoking has any effect whatsoever on my ability to concentrate whilst driving (or doing most other things to be honest), a lot of the time I'd smoke a cig without even being aware of the action of smoking it. Fair enough there's a risk that you could burn yourself with ash, but then there's also a (probably equal) risk that a wasp could sting you. Granted you're creating the risk of a burn by smoking, but the chance of it is minute - I could count on one hand the number of times I've burned myself from a cig whether driving or not. Are there facts or figures somewhere that prove that accidents are caused by smoking? I'd be interested to see them if there are. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Digsy Posted December 12, 2011 Share Posted December 12, 2011 On a slightly more related and serious note, I'd love to know how many people in this thread who are harping on about people smoking whilst driving actually pull over and bring their vehicle to a standstill to adjust their stereo or change a CD? If by "adjusting" the stereo you mean tweaking the volume up or down a bit or changing channel on the radio, then yes, I do this whist on the move because it takes a split second and only involves using one button that I can reach without having to look for it (in my current car I don't even have to take my hands off the wheel). I would not choose to change a CD over while moving because it requires too much concentration for too long. I will only select a specific track or album on my MP3 player if the road ahead is clear and only if I don't have to spend ages searching for it. Adjusting your stereo is an act that takes a few seconds and requires relatively little attention. If you are smoking or talking on the phone you are engaged in a prolonged activity. I appreciate that even a second's distraction can cause an accident, but the risk of this must be many times greater with smoking than pushing a button on your stereo. If you really think that banning something that you are otherwise free to do in the comfort of your own home or outdoors in public but when done at the wheel makes driving uneccesarily dangerous for yourself and other road users is an example of the government "controling your thoughts and opinions" then its time to put your tin foil hat on and join your nearest "occupy" camp. Its not about you. If you could prove that the only people that ever get hurt through choosing to smoke at the wheel are the smoking drivers themselves then I'd be happy for you to carry on, but that can never be the case. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shane Posted December 12, 2011 Share Posted December 12, 2011 ^^ And, you can plan when to adjust your stereo, when was the last time you heard of someone planning to drop their lit fag or car fag lighter thingy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tricky-Ricky Posted December 12, 2011 Share Posted December 12, 2011 Still going! and still with so many cliché arguments, so heres another:p you can argue until your blue in the face that smoking, eating, drinking, thinking etc etc is dangerous while driving, but its the split second it takes to fiddle with your radio, tell junior to stop shouting etc, that can just as easily destroy your concentration, and as they say a split second is all it takes:rolleyes: I have driven all my life using mostly one hand, and for half of that i smoked, now this is through choise/habit etc, so does this automatically make me a dangerous driver? and i will freely admit that i have had occasions when i have fiddled with the radio/satnav etc and wandered in the road, because my attention was divided, yet all the time i smoked i can't ever recall it causing me distraction of the same degree, and i would rather put up with a cigarette burn and pull over safely than just weave all over the road, while trying to remove/avoid it, and in fact it only ever happened once. Now not everybody is going to be the same, and i suspect that the people that the proposed law is targeting, if there are any in particular that is:rolleyes: are likely to ignore it anyway, to me it seems obvious that the government is just taking us all for idiots who cant make decisions or concentrate on driving without taking all distractions away from us, so we behave like good little robots, and be lead into total conformity, As i said on another thread, 1984 is a little late in coming but they are certainly working on it! So i say to all the good little robots out there, enjoy what little freedom of to act, have free speech;)/thought that you have left, because if you already believe that its all for your own good, they part own your mind already! Conspiracy theory rant over for now;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2soops Posted December 12, 2011 Share Posted December 12, 2011 And the person who posted "if you can drive safely you can, if you cant you cant, if you can drive safely you can, if you cant you cant" - how do you find out if you are in the "can't" category? Presumably the moment just after you've ploughed into the car in front / tree / pedestrian.[/size][/font] All i meant by this was that everyone has different skills behind the wheel. Some people are natural drivers some arent. Some people have to drive autos because they cant change gear, some have to have small cars because they cant manage large one etc etc. How many people who are non smokers still have crashes, quite a few i should think. How much concentration do non smokers really think it takes to smoke a cigarette, its not hard trust me. You can smoke without thinking about it the same as you can change gear without thinking about it. Do non smokers think we are all clumsy too and regularly drop fags all the time, ive never burned myself or a seat in my life. That said i would love to quit the dreaded weed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shane Posted December 12, 2011 Share Posted December 12, 2011 The only cliché argument I have read so far is the big brother, government etc wanting to prevent smoking in cars because they want to impose their control over us. They may do, I agree this, but I personally don't think by preventing smoking in cars is one of the ways they are trying to do this. Anyhow, you are going to like this then: Private vehicles, or those that are used mainly for private purposes will not be required to be smokefree. Lighting up behind the wheel in Scotland can already cost you £60 as in 2006 smoking whilst driving was banned as part of the Scottish Highway Code. In-car smoking is banned in Brazil and in Germany, they are attempting to impose a smoking ban whilst driving. A popular German newspaper reported on accident research which showed that a vehicle travelling 50 kilometres (31 miles) per hour will still travel 14 metres (16 yards) per second whilst the driver scrabbles around for a fallen cigarette. Clearly there is huge potential for an accident whilst the driver has taken their eye off the road or dipped in concentration. Recent Spanish research indicates that smokers are twice as likely to be involved in a serious road accident as non-smokers. Source: http://www.safermotoring.co.uk/drinkingeatingsmokingwhendriving.html Although I am surprised about the Scotish Highway code bit, I thought England, Scotland and Wales all used the same. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
probrox Posted December 12, 2011 Share Posted December 12, 2011 So do all the people who think it is OK to smoke whilst driving also think it is OK to use a non-hands free mobile phone whilst driving? And before you say its not the same thing, it takes your attention away from what you are supposed to be doing, so as far as I'm concerned its exactly the same thing. And the person who posted "if you can drive safely you can, if you cant you cant, if you can drive safely you can, if you cant you cant" - how do you find out if you are in the "can't" category? Presumably the moment just after you've ploughed into the car in front / tree / pedestrian. I'm not after a "nanny state" any more that most but I do think there should be consistency in the law. If driving with a mobile is banned then eating, drinking and smoking at the wheel should be banned too. I think that having to demonstrate the fact that you are not in control of your car to the point where a police officer (should one be nearby) can spot it and observe you long enough to make the decision to pull you over is like closing the barn door after the horse has bolted. There are probably many people (particularly from the previous generation) who would argue that that they could drive perfectly well to an external observer even after having had one too many, but since it is now accepted that drink driving causes accidents, its banned and the ban is also widely socially accepted. If there is similar evidence that driving whist doing other activites is similarly dangerous, then why is there so much negativity associated with a potential ban on smoking? The "children in car" argument, to me, just comes across as "I will defend my right to have a lit peice of paper in my mouth, potentially dropping ash in my lap, flicking a fag out of the window every few seconds, while I travel towards you at a closing speed of 120mph, but - oh no - not if my child is in the car, because I'm responsible". Sorry. Doesn't make any sense at all. To be honest I don't think it distracts in the same way as a mobile phone. When I smoke I'm not concentrating on smoking much in the same way as i don't concentrate on changing gear, it is more of an automatic process. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Posted December 12, 2011 Share Posted December 12, 2011 Load of lefty do-da. Get a life, what about people with young kids distracting them while driving, far more dangerous so should we insist that kids are bound and gagged when travelling in a car? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ellis Posted December 12, 2011 Share Posted December 12, 2011 Load of lefty do-da. Get a life, what about people with young kids distracting them while driving, far more dangerous so should we insist that kids are bound and gagged when travelling in a car? Lock 'em in the boot mate - far easier! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Posted December 12, 2011 Share Posted December 12, 2011 Lock 'em in the boot mate - far easier! Or get a roof rack and shove 'em up there, far safer for the driver. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobSheffield Posted December 12, 2011 Share Posted December 12, 2011 To be frank, a situation far worse than distraction by smoking or young children is ladies with large breasts. The number of near accidents iv had in a car as iv been studying the motion of the twins is unreal NB - not trouser accidents before you start! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peter richards Posted December 12, 2011 Share Posted December 12, 2011 ah right i get it now smoke in the car with the kids , they cant breathe so have difficulty in making any noise apart from slight gasping for air , helps said smoker concentrate on not crashing . job done Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Posted December 12, 2011 Share Posted December 12, 2011 ah right i get it now smoke in the car with the kids , they cant breathe so have difficulty in making any noise apart from slight gasping for air , helps said smoker concentrate on not crashing . job done There you go, it's safer to smoke in the car with kids.......sorted:d Give them a fag too and it'll keep them quite. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peter richards Posted December 12, 2011 Share Posted December 12, 2011 thread was dwindling mate, probably not far off the slagging each other off stage Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tricky-Ricky Posted December 12, 2011 Share Posted December 12, 2011 To be honest I don't think it distracts in the same way as a mobile phone. When I smoke I'm not concentrating on smoking much in the same way as i don't concentrate on changing gear, it is more of an automatic process. Mind you i guess dropping the crack pipe while driving would be far more likely to cause an accident;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kill1308 Posted December 12, 2011 Share Posted December 12, 2011 Well my final thoughts on this thread are... No of near misses I've had whilst pissing around with the stereo - Several over the years No of near misses I've had due to smoking - Zero I've also NEVER had a cherry drop off in my lap in 14 years of driving, but hey ho. The only thing I've gathered from this thread really are that all the people that want it banned are non-smokers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Posted December 12, 2011 Share Posted December 12, 2011 The only thing I've gathered from this thread really are that all the people that want it banned are non-smokers. Does that make them Smokists? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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