Originally Posted by Princessxxxx:
“Would posters agree with me that holding a fag and trying to drive means you are not in full control of the car.”
Define "
full control of the car " for us.
Originally Posted by Princessxxxx:
“Importantly, and almost everyone will agree as they must have experience of this seeing this, EG, fag smokers/clowns throwing out fag ends out of their vehclie, more often than lot it lands harmlessly on the road, pavement but it can land on or in some ones car and damge theri seat/carpet or worse still land in a child seat.”
Lot's of things
can happen.... An asteroid could hit the earth and wipe out nearly all life on the planet... but we aren't hiding in caves. An oncoming driver could stray over the white line and smash in to your car at a closing speed in excess of 80mph.... but that doesn't stop us having roads where the only thing separating the two opposing flows of traffic is a bit of white paint.
It doesn't take much imagination to dream up all kinds of scary scenarios. But before starting some kind of campaign to ban this or that you should really look in to the statistical probabilities. I understand you having a worrying experience and how that has skewed your perception. That isolated incident isn't justification enough to create a much bigger problem.
Nicotine is addictive. Withdrawl causes all sorts of issues. There's a list
here . When you call for a ban on smoking during driving because of the remote chance that a cigarette butt might end up in your car then I automatically weigh that against the increased risk of a serious road traffic accident because the driver is distracted by their longing for a cigarette at the end of a journey. In short then, do I want tired, irritable or anxious drivers piloting more than a tonne of metal at speed and in close proximity to other vehicles, pedestrians, cyclists etc just so you can feel safe because an infinitesimally smaller risk has been eliminated? The answer is a resounding
No.
Originally Posted by Princessxxxx:
“More and more clowns that smoke throw out their fag end as most newer cars do not have ash trays.”
That issue can be resolved by informing drivers of the penalties, and possibly by making use if dash-cam footage for enforcement, and by the sale of aftermarket clip on ashtrays in the same way that hands-free kits are sold for mobiles. It doesn't need a ban, just better management.