Topic: Smoking while driving

[Matt zx9]

From today, police can cite smoking while driving as not being in full control of your vehicle.
What this doesn't mean is that it's illegal to smoke while you drive (let alone that the police will prosecute).
What it does mean is that if a driver takes you out while having a fag, you've got a much better (okay, a bit better) chance of getting the driver prosecuted and winning the insurance claim against them.

So bad news if you're a smoking driver, but potentially useful if you're a biker    '>

[MATTP]

Sad day in my view '> .
I was born in a country (NZ) known by many as the ‘land of the long white cloud’. I think in the years to come the birth place of my Son (England) will be known as the ‘land of the many draconian laws’ '>

[Matt zx9]

Quote (MATTP @ Sep. 28 2007,08:43)

Sad day in my view '> . I was born in a country (NZ) known by many as the ‘land of the long white cloud’. I think in the years to come the birth place of my Son (England) will be known as the ‘land of the many draconian laws’ '>

I just knew you'd be on to say that  '>

To an extent, I agree with you. Pretty much everything seems to be banned these days  '>

...but seeing as that's what the law says now, then as a biker I'd use it if it helps me win a case or gets a driver off the road. Might as well use the rules of the game in our favour for once.

[ifizzy]

Another intrusion into a persons freedom of choice.
Who said communism was dead.
Were living in a bloody dictatorship.

[Matt zx9]

Quote (ifizzy @ Sep. 28 2007,09:06)

Another intrusion into a persons freedom of choice.

Would that be the freedom of choice to not pay attention whilst driving?  

[Mr Rizla]

Quote (MATTP @ Sep. 28 2007,08:43)

Sad day in my view '> . I was born in a country (NZ) known by many as the ‘land of the long white cloud’. I think in the years to come the birth place of my Son (England) will be known as the ‘land of the many draconian laws’ '>

any activity in the car that distracts the drivers concentration is bad in my view... so come on u car drivers who smoke, and i used to be one of them, how many times have you dropped a lit fag in the car while driving and had to do an emergency stop... or have gone to ping the fag end out the window and its been blown back into the car and you have to do an emergency stop, pull over to side of road and find the butt before the interior goes up in smoke.. or the ultimate naughty.. ping the fag end out the window and its hit a 2 wheeled vehicle, is us... in the last 2 years i can remmember at least 3 times where while filtering a glowing butt has pinged off my closed (thank god) visor

ill shut up now abd g0 get my coffee

[john]

smoking should def not be allowed whilst driving, I'm astonsihed that it has been allowed for so long, how can lighting a small fire in the car be safe in any way ?

I think the reason we have ever increasing laws and restrictions is because that it seems that half of the country is becoming increasingly imbecilic and lawless while the other half are constantly calling for something to be done about it !

[MATTP]

Where is the intent coming from to hurt someone outside of you by smoking and driving? This is my main issue with a lot of laws that have been pushed onto the people of late. IMO, TB and now GB have been putting a section in to get the headlines and a section in to get in by the backdoor what the really want from the law.

Don’t get me wrong here as I’d love to have safer roads for us all. But this will not make the roads safer and IMO is just another headline grabber by the Gov! If you want to save lives by linking driving and smoking together with a ban then ban all smoking in cars when there is a child under 16 in the car. More chance of helping the nation than this laughable waste of writing!

Also, are we to think that people now can not smoke and drive like they have been able to do for many years? Funny how before all this power steering came in on cars, we were all able to drive a car using 1 hand while smoking or having a snack. IMO, its bad driving and not smoking that is the reason for these crashes which happen while someone is driving.

As we all know if the Gov is not pushing more laws onto us then we may have time to ask why the F we have spent more money trying to free the oil….sorry people of Iraq than we have on building new establishments (tax paying funding for hospitals, schools, roads, etc and not the total amount of cost which takes in the loans from private companies) for us to use. Makes you question if the oil….sorry, people of Iraq are worth more than the hard working people of the UK.

Rant over and now time to look for a bike to stop travelling on bloody public transport!

[john]

I agree, there are far too many news laws but they are aimed at the lowest common denominator which ironically are generally the sort of people who don't give a stuff about the law anyway.

Smoking and driving is so obviously dangerous, as is having a hot drink in the car, if people can't be trusted to be sensible then they have to be forced to be and I just don't think there are enough people in this country that can be trusted to make the right sort of decisions about the way they live their lives and conduct themselves to keep the rest of us safe !

[MATTP]

Quote (Mr Rizla @ Sep. 28 2007,09:47)

any activity in the car that distracts the drivers concentration is bad in my view...

OK, best I leave this topic as I drive and smoke and don't have a problem with doing it  '>

[john]

You may well, and probably are, quite safe getting up to all manner of shenanigans in your car while driving, I've always felt that most bikers tend to be better car drivers than your average.

I think that unfortunately a majority of the rest of the people in this god foresaken country can't even drive that well in the first place, thats the problem.

Maybe smoking and driving should be part of the driving test ? with a new category on the licence ! '>

[Mr Rizla]

Quote (john @ Sep. 28 2007,10:31)

You may well, and probably are, quite safe getting up to all manner of shenanigans in your car while driving

1. No smoking
2. No changing music cd or skipping tracks
3. No radio tuning, major distraction
4. No eating, u can choke and then panic stop
5. No Drinking, could drop hot choc on lap and also panic stop
6. No Phones (already covered)

All the above are common sense and should have been outlawed at the start, that way you would not miss them. Its not a case of taking away peoples rights with regards to the car, they shouldnt have been allowed in the 1st place.

having said that all of the above are perfectly acceptable while the car is parked, not stationary at lights... major difference

[MATTP]

I've been smoking and driving since 16 '> . The only trouble I've had was when driving in the South Island of NZ and I was told they use bongs to smoke their cigs

[MATTP]

Quote (Mr Rizla @ Sep. 28 2007,10:54)

1. No smoking 2. No changing music cd or skipping tracks .......... major difference

Thank F you are not in policy mate   .
Millions of people drove to work today and had a smoke. How many do you think ended up having a crash as a direct link to smoking?

Also, does the interference from Gov bring about a positive change for the many it will affect or the very few it may help as a direct link to misused figures?

IMO, yet another Gov dept trying to push forward headline news to make out as if something positive is coming from this misfiring impotent group of underperforming misfits!

[Matt zx9]

.....As I tried to soooooooo carefully emphasise in the first post, the law hasnt changed as such, you can still smoke... just as long as you're in control of the vehicle  

As a biker, Im pretty sure most of us have the mindset that while you're riding, that is all you're doing and you should be paying 100% attention to it. Car drivers often seem to think that driving is a useful hour to get other stuff done.

So this change, in the highway code not the law, simply changes the emphasis so that its your responsibility should you f^ck up while lighting a fag etc etc.

I'm as anti-legislation as anyone else (including MattP  '>  ) but this is simply a change in attitude and responsibility. Which is a good thing.

[MATTP]

Quote (Matt zx9 @ Sep. 28 2007,11:18)

I'm as anti-legislation as anyone else (including MattP  '>  )

I have to agree that I may have an issue with more and more control over my life and the things I do. I'm not out there to hurt or kill anyone. At the same time I do hate it that some twit in a Gov building who does not drive, ride, drink, smoke, etc but can twist the figures to back him up what he wants to sell is able to screw me over!

I WANT MY BIKE BACK!!!

[trouty]

pah! i shall go on driving the van (without power steering) and negotiating roundabouts whilst steering with my knee's and rolling a ciggy.

i want to know how the law's are going to change to punish the thieving pikey fekkers that keep pushing my premiums, travel costs and more importantly (to me) my travel time??

now, what if a pikey theif has stolen a vehicle, is having a ciggy as he drives it away, and goes thorugh some speed camera's?

[Flying Scot]

Quote (Mr Rizla @ Sep. 28 2007,10:54)

Quote (john @ Sep. 28 2007,10:31) You may well, and probably are, quite safe getting up to all manner of shenanigans in your car while driving 1. No smoking 2. No changing music cd or skipping tracks 3. No radio tuning, major distraction 4. No eating, u can choke and then panic stop 5. No Drinking, could drop hot choc on lap and also panic stop 6. No Phones (already covered) All the above are common sense and should have been outlawed at the start, that way you would not miss them. Its not a case of taking away peoples rights with regards to the car, they shouldnt have been allowed in the 1st place. having said that all of the above are perfectly acceptable while the car is parked, not stationary at lights... major difference

Come on ken you listen to an mp3 when riding thats a distraction is it not it's all getting out of hand in this country.
   Anything to take the attention away from more important matters this goverment are very good at distraction.

[guzz]

We don't actually need more laws, we just need the existing ones to be used effectively.
Less traffic cops and more speed cameras mean a lot more people are getting away with things that in the past would have got them done for undue care and attention.
I couldn't count the number of times I see people doing dumb stuff out on the road, but the only times I see traffic cops now is doing stationary speed camera checks, and when the DVLA are checking tax disks.
I guess its all about raising revenue now, not upholding the law.
Glad I joined another emergency service, if I was a cop I'd just be depressed  '>

[trouty]

Quote (eezyrida @ Sep. 28 2007,12:38)

1. We regularly get temporarily blinded when hot ashes get flicked out of vehicle windows; and 2. Cigarette smoking is a distraction that regularly results in bikers being killed and maimed.

1. i cant say that i have EVER been blinded, temporary or otherwise, by cigarette ashes being flicked out of the window.

Just how regularly do others get blinded?

2. There should be some official figures/statistics to back this statement up.  Or is this a statement to appoint blame?

 

[TallGuy]

Whoa, wrong end of stick grabbed by many.

Nothing has been banned. A driver has always been required to have full control of their vehicle and it is the lawyers who have driven the law into defining everything which could be considered to be a contributory factor of not being in full control because their clients insist that their actions aren't unlawful. Subjective laws were more readily accepted by the public because the police could only enforce them in extreme cases due to the amount of evidence that needed to be collected. Now days it’s the action rather than the circumstances which have become more important. '>

[MATTP]

Quote (Matt zx9 @ Sep. 28 2007,08:37)

From today, police can cite smoking while driving as not being in full control of your vehicle. What this doesn't mean is that it's illegal to smoke while you drive (let alone that the police will prosecute). What it does mean is that if a driver takes you out while having a fag, you've got a much better (okay, a bit better) chance of getting the driver prosecuted and winning the insurance claim against them. So bad news if you're a smoking driver, but potentially useful if you're a biker    '>

Tallguy,

Reading over Matts post I can't find the link to the wrong end of the stick?

So, is it wrong to say that from today you will not be classed as being in full control of the vehicle if you were smoking when you have a crash?

If true, then I think its an Fing joke that the people in power on the roads are in need of such an over the top bit of help in their drive to charge someone who was at fault for the crash.

Then again it could help us all in a couple of years as we could use camers to send out tickets to people driving while smoking. Another great idea to save us all....

[ifizzy]

Why not bring in one little piece of legislation that could sort it all out.
Ban smoking and classify it as a class a drug.
Ive smoked everywhere even on a bike.
Not trying to be big and clever.
The fact of the matter is its not only car drivers with bad habits.
Seems sometimes that we are all too ready to throw shit at drivers whatever the excuse.
Were not exempt from causing accidents either.

[eezyrida]

Quote (troutslayer @ Sep. 28 2007,12:45)

Cigarette smoking is a distraction that regularly results in bikers being killed and maimed.

[/quote]
Hi Troutslayer,

You're quite right, I posted without checking my facts so I have deleted my post. Sorry for not being thorough.

I do regularly get blinded by ashes flicked out of vehicle windows. I consider it to be a common occurrence for city bikers - those who, like me, choose not to wear their visor down, that is.

On the accidents point, it can't be denied that smoking is a distraction for drivers, unless someone invents a hands-free smoking kit. I don't think it is possible to provide figures on this as a driver is hardly going to say "sorry guv, I was distracted as I was trying to light my fag". They are far more likely to blame the biker/other road user or come up with some other excuse like the brakes weren't working. This lack of solid evidence therefore means I would be wrong to state, as a fact, that this happens. However, it is a distraction, and as such has the potential for causing motorcycle fatalities. And I have lost enough friends this way to know that any unnecessary distractions for drivers are not a good thing.  '>

[trouty]

eezyrider - there was no need to delete your post, it was your opinion and you are entitled to it, no harm done etc etc '>

how comes i dont ever get blinded, yet others do? this is a serious question btw. could it be attributed to road positioning or something?  when i'm riding alongside another vehicle, unless its a van or truck, my head is above the roofline of the other vehicle.

yes, i have had a ciggy butt hit me in the chest. and yes, when i'm smoking, i tend to flick the butt straight down at the floor to be considerate of the bikers that my be passing down the side of my vehicle.  

But being hit by fag butts/ash whilst filtering perilously close to the vehicle flicking them suggests blame lays in 2 places, the driver for not being more considerate, and the rider for putting him/herself into such a position in the first place!

all in my own humble opinion of course! '>