Driven to distraction
Monday, May 14, 2007 
I spent the early part of this morning at BBC Television Centre in London. And I mean early. I had to get up at four o'clock in order to drive to London from my home in Cambridgeshire to be on the Breakfast programme at 6.20.
My fellow guest was Simon Ettinghausen of the Local Authority Road Safety Officers' Association (Larsoa). Simon insisted that smoking while driving is a major distraction, although the studies I have seen suggest otherwise, but we agreed that proper research needs to be done.
The programme received so many texts and emails on the subject that I was interviewed again at 8.10. While I was waiting I did a quick interview with BBC Radio Wales. This time my opponent was Simon's colleague David Frost. Like Simon, he couldn't give any figures for the number of accidents caused by smoking while driving in the UK - because, to the best of my knowledge, there aren't any. The whole thing is an absolute farce.
Meanwhile the Government says it has no plans to ban smoking in cars. (See HERE.) If you believe that, you'll believe anything.
Simon Clark
Just spotted in today's Scotsman:
Larsoa chairman Malcolm Burns told Reuters the organisation had no evidence smoking was a contributory factor to road accidents and the organisation's initiative has been criticised by the anti speed-camera group Safe Speed.
"I'm amazed Larsoa should propose such a thing," said Safe Speed founder Paul Smith. "Smoking at the wheel isn't a known cause of crashes - the risk is purely theoretical.
"One thing is for sure -- while a police officer is giving you a ticket for smoking at the wheel, he's not catching drunk drivers or stolen cars."
Reader Comments (17)
However, I'm sure you could find figures that prove safer driving whilst not smoking.
Rob Simpson... It's only a matter of time before he appears.
The Straw Man!
Mary: We should stop children running onto busy streets.
Rob Simpson: Well, we can't lock them up forever!!
Simon; Yes the government has no plans... just like it had no plans to ban smoking entirely. But they have to respond to "public" pressure. This is why they pay huge amounts of taxpayers' money to "charities" like ASH so that they can provide the "public" pressure. Then the government can make a responsible "response".
Goebbels has some fine students.
Excellent. Blame the Germans. How British.
Well John, at least when I show up in a thread I have something to contribute. It's a pity you can't say the same.
To that end, if smoking in cars were a safety issue then Larsoa would have figures to hand, surely. The fact that they don't prompts the obvious question - how dangerous can it be?
For Simon Ettinghausen to turn up sans figures and claim it was a major distraction is nothing more than an exercise in buffoonery
I have to say that to ban smoking in a persons own vehicle is more likely to increase incidents on the road because if you are a smoker and you want a cigarette then the more time you are unable to have one, especially because of pathetic laws made by pathetic people, then the worse your driving will become and your concentration will be on the next place you can stop for a smoke! If stuck in a jam on the motorway, this could be some time and totally unacceptable to drivers who smoke.
My father, who used to be an Air Steward, stated that air rage was not known before smoking was banned on aircraft - ban it in cars and see how the incidents of road rage increase and the number of otherwise law abiding citizens who suddenly become 'criminals'. Even Brian Rix could not come up with such a brilliant farce!
I wont smoke in a pub after July 1st for the simple reason I dont want the publican in my local to get a hefty fine. I wont put myself or my local publican in that position. However, if I want to smoke in my space, in my car then no amount of laws will stop me.
It is going in direction of completely outlaw of smoking and outlaw tobacco industry.
Producing or consuming tobacco will be equalised with producing and consuming dangerous narcotics.
That is real target of the antismoking campaign.
All is because non-smokers are easy to convert to some cultish belief and smokers are much harder to convert to any of nowadays grooving number of cults.
In reality the antismoking activists do not care for others people health but just for their selfish belief and to gain new converts that will strength their own belief.
I agree and disagree. You are correct in your assertion of the anti-smokers real target. That have as much as admitted that now.
But the problem isn't that they don't care, but that they do care, about things that have nothing to do with them.
This is tyranny of the do-gooder. Limitation of freedom of choice for our own good. In their world view we shouldn't be smoking and they'll not stop until they get that. Our opinion on whether we want to smoke or not is irrelevent to them. We've made the WRONG choice and they'll cheerfully use government force to eliminate the wrong choice by removing choice althogether.
Good analysis Rob
Dont know if any of you have read the Sun comic today but theres a piece in there that reads;81% of people in favour of smoking ban,also goes on; 70% of women and 54% of men in favour of banning cigs while driving.
I for one would love to know where they get these figures from????
The idea that lives could be saved by banning drivers from smoking might sound sensible to some. However, why stop at that. If you ban all drivers of motorised vehicles, surely you would stop anyone possibly getting killed- full stop!!!!
If they're going to ban smoking in cars, they should also stop:
a)eating and drinking
b)listening to music
c)talking to your passengers (or even
allowing your passengers to talk)
These things could all (theoretically) divert your attention from driving and are all as ridiculous as each other.
Thanks Kate. What a magnificent argument.
Surely the worst distraction of all is having screaming children in the back of your car.
Why aren't they banning those?
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