10th May 2007

Ban smoking at the wheel

The smoking ban in enclosed public places and workplaces in England comes into force shortly on July 1st but the Local Authority Road Safety Officers’ Association is calling on the government to go even further and investigate the possibility of introducing a blanket ban on smoking while driving.

Road traffic legislation already places responsibility on all drivers to have proper control of their vehicles. Any motorist who fails to do so, for whatever reason, such as smoking, or eating and drinking, is liable to prosecution.

The new edition of The Highway Code includes “smoking” in the list of potential distractions to be avoided when driving.

LARSOA believes that trying to light cigarettes and the dangerous practice of throwing them out of an open window into the path of the car, bicycle or motorbike behind is far too distracting and could easily lead to accidents.

Simon Ettinghausen, a spokesman for the organisation, which helps road safety officers across the UK promote safe practice for all road users, says too many drivers do other things when they’re behind the wheel instead of concentrating on driving.

He explains: “Driving is a complicated business especially with the high volume of traffic motorists have to contend with these days – it’s not an area where you can multi-task.”

Under the new smoking laws, drivers who drive a company vehicle for work, will be banned from lighting up behind the wheel. The new law will require vehicles to be smoke free if they are used:
• to transport members of the public
• in the course of paid or voluntary work by more than one person regardless of whether they are in the vehicle at the same time.

Simon adds: “Drivers shouldn’t be trying to smoke or eat when they’re behind the wheel, they should be concentrating on the task in hand and the road ahead. Smoking can be particularly dangerous when lit cigarettes are thrown from open windows, they can hit the car behind causing that driver to get a shock, they can be dropped in the car itself or blown back in by the wind leading to the possibility of injury or fire.”

Penalties have recently increased for drivers caught using hand-held mobile phones while driving with fines going up to £60 from £30 and drivers now incurring three penalty points on their licence.

Most local authorities around the country also instruct their employees not to use hands-free mobile phones while they are driving and to find a parking place if they need to make or answer a call.

“When you are driving that should be the sole focus of your attention. It’s time more was done to make people aware that even momentary lapses in concentration can cost lives,” Simon concludes.

ABOUT LARSOA

LARSOA is a national road safety organisation representing road safety officers (RSOs) employed in local government across the UK.

LARSOA represents 185 of the 200 eligible local authorities across the UK, assisting RSOs to fulfil their statutory role to reduce the number and severity of road casualties through education, training and publicity programmes.

LARSOA publishes an up-to-date round-up of road safety news from across the UK on its website www.larsoa.org.uk .

LARSOA also aims to influence national debate - government policy and action together with public opinion. The association works to achieve national recognition for road safety issues, commissions research into behaviour which contributes to road collisions and develops national road safety campaigns.

The association assists in identifying achievable national targets to reduce the number of collisions on the country's roads.