DriveSmartBC - Careless Smokers
 

It's that time of year again, sunny and dry with a chance of mindless smokers. I watched another one take the last puff and then toss the smouldering butt out the window onto the highway while he waited in front of me at a red light. All it needed was the breezy nudge of another passing vehicle to find it's way into the dormant grass on the shoulder to really get things started.

One could call the police and report this person. It's an offence under the Motor Vehicle Act to discard things on a highway. When an unthinking driver tossed his cigarette as I walked up to the vehicle during a traffic stop I used to offer them the opportunity of picking it up themselves or I would do it for them at a cost of $109.

You might also consider notifying the Ministry of Forests and Range. They are interested in hearing from you about incidents like this. Call *5555 on your cell phone or (800)663-5555 from a land line. Their enforcement officers may choose to use the provisions of the Wildfire Act to penalize careless individuals.

I chose instead to simply call the phone number that was written on the company vehicle. "It's very poor advertising for your business." I told the receptionist. "Yes," she replied, "especially since half of BC is burning right now. We'll find out who it was and give them hell for it!" I hope that she did.

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Thank you for posting this. This is the sort of careless act that I cannot stand. Heck, do we even want people who are generally this careless driving in the first place?

Ban smoking in cars altogether. It's a distraction, dangerous and I can't stand driving behind someone blowing puffs of cigarette or marijuana smoke out the window.

Normally I can't stand the "gotcha!" position held by police officers as they hand out a ticket for a minor traffic offense, but littering, especially cigarettes - lock 'em up!

I know a cyclist who was hit in the face once by someone tossing a cigarette butt out the car window.

As for calling up the "are we driving safely" number on the back of the truck, I asked someone who worked in the trucking business if those reports ever get acted upon. His reply: "No, even the call takers are usually stoned out of their minds".

I ride a little 50cc scooter, so I'm a little bit more at one with the road.
I was stopped at a red light (westbound on Lougheed @ brentwood), I saw the driver just to my front-right toss his butt out the window.

I recently did 2 neighborhood cleanups.
1 of which was downtown, for an entire hour 99% of the garbage I bagged were cigarette butts, so when I saw this guy toss his out the window, I got seriously peeved. Absolutely fuming in fact.

Not only did he choose to smoke, f-up the air in our city some more and weigh down our horrible inefficient healthcare system.
Now he just threw out some highly non-degradable garbage!!!


I was tempted to stop my scoot, walk the 5 feet. Pick up the butt, and throw it in that guy's face.


I'm not sure what would have happened, but I doubt it would have ended up with him saying he's sorry and he'll never do it again.

I think everybody that day was lucky I wanted to get to work quickly.

argh.

Props to you! :thumbsup:

This is the way the law should be handled. People make dumb costly mistakes, they should be given a chance to rethink their behaviour and avoid the fine. This might actually change their behaviour more than being slapped with a fine.

This is why smokers are losing their right to smoke at beaches and parks effective tomorrow. They don't like their disgusting habit enough to keep their butts on them, so they toss them. I especially hate this with vehicles since they are disgusting enough to smoke in their car yet don't want the smell to linger in an ashtray.

Banning smoking in cars would be the same thing as banning smoking in your own houses. Its your car, you make the rules. No, smoking is not a distraction at all. It's a habit now, kind of like how my tongue and teeth know where each other are and won't get in each other's ways. I keep one hand on the wheel, and the other on my cigarette to ash, and when shifting is required, I hold the cigarette with my mouth.

If I remember correctly it is already illegal to smoke in a car if there are riders under the age of 16.

I agree with you that people shouldn't be throwing their butts out the window. But the chances that people throw it out the window are the people who also ash out their window because they're too cheap to purchase an ashtray, so it's not that they don't want the smell to linger, its cause they don't have an ashtray.

Almost every car has an ashtray, or they can use a cup in the cup holder. No excuses.

It's such a typical smoker's attitude, isn't it?

The new cars come with an ashtray.

What if the car was older?

What if the car was bought second hand and the original owner already took out the ashtray?

What if the car does not have cupholders?

Actually, I think ashtrays were more common on older cars than on newer cars. A lot of cars now offer an optional "smoker's package" if you want an ashtray and cigarette lighter.

A car with no ashtray and cupholders would be a rare thing. Besides, if you are a smoker, why buy a used car without those features?

Because you start smoking after you buy the car?

As for the ashtray being common, I'm not too sure of which way it goes. I understand completely what you're trying to say about throwing your butts out the window, but I'm just trying to prove a point that a lot of people are just cheap.

They'll spend $10-$20 per day on cigarettes, but won't spend $4.49 once on something to put their butts into?

That's not cheap, that's careless.

I'm not a regular smoker, just smoke Colts when I'm in my car since I'm usually driving for long periods. When I bought my car it was missing the ashtray so the next day I had to hit the junkyard for one. I fail to see why people still throw butts out the window... I can put out my cigar while driving without any issue. I guess on the bright side I rarely see people throwing them now, so MOST people have smartened up.

Yeah, but that takes up one of the beer holders!