Can you get fined for smoking in your car in the UK?

Question

My friend has told me it is now illegal to smoke a cigarette whilst driving and you can get a penalty ticket... similar to if you get caught using a mobile phone but without the points on your licence.

Is this true?
This is the first i have heard of it... if it is true then surely this should be advertised so people know??

Answer 1

Yes it is true that a driver is not allowed to smoke while driving a car/vehicle. Just how such a ban is to be enforced is not immediately obvious, unless the fuzz hide in the bushes at the traffic lights and pounce upon unsuspecting drivers taking a quick draw.

It's not illegal to smoke in your car yet, but it is if you are the driver. If you are alone driving then you'll just have to pull over and light up in a layby or somewhere, but not please across a farm/field gate.

Here's what AutoTrader says on the subject of smoking while driving : -

Smoking drivers risk prosecution - Auto Trader UK - News and ...Smoking while driving is now classed as a “distraction” by the rulebook. ... three and nine penalty points, a fine of up to £2500 or even a driving ban. ...
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/EDITORIAL/CARS/news/36643.html


While on the subject of smoking, you can already see just how easy it is for the government to start banning smoking in public places, then in our cars, soon it will be banned in our own homes.

Further down the road, people who continue to smoke will probably not get NHS treatment for any related disease in the not too distant future.

Just beware of all of this because it's not just the Labour party but all political parties here in UK who want to impose a complete ban on smoking.

It's going to happen - I'm no on week nine [9] without a smoke and close to giving it up altogether. I've been sucking on the weed since 1956 - a monster raving lung busting 51 years. I'm off the weed for good now.

I'm not a zealot and am not in the business ever of telling other folk what to do. But if you can, please try and pack it in. You can get all kinds of free help from your doctor.

Answer 2

Marvellous how rumours start, isn't it? First of all ,with regard to the smoking laws, it is now illegal to smoke if your vehicle is a "place of work", which is why that lorry driver got done. In your own car, it doesn't matter.

What has probably started this off is that the new Highway Code now mentions it, but the Code is "merely" emphasising the dangers. You always could be done for not being in proper control, remember that person who was done for taking a swig from a bottle of water while at the lights? And the fact that you were smoking could be ammunition towards a charge of careless driving in the event of an accident. There's no change in the law in this respect.

Answer 3

There are two possibilities:
1. You can be fined for not being in proper control of the vehicle (It is not necessary to have an accident first if the police can prove the offence).
2. If you are using the car for work, it becomes a workplace and smoking in it is illegal.
Otherwise a ban on smoking in your car is so far only a proposal.

Answer 4

Pot...kettle...black luke3rgj???


Drivers who smoke break rules of road
By David Millward, Transport Editor
Last Updated: 1:58am BST 01/10/2007



Many smokers regard their car as the last refuge from the ban that has prevented them from lighting up in public.

The Highway Code
But now smoking behind the wheel could result in their being prosecuted for driving without due care and attention.

Under the new Highway Code, which comes into force today, having a cigarette while driving is a breach of the rules of the road and classed as a "distraction".

It means that if a driver crashes his or her car while smoking they could be charged with driving without due care and attention. That could mean a fine of up to £2,500, three to nine penalty points or even a ban.

The move is technically regarded as "best practice" but failing to observe the advice does leave motorists vulnerable to prosecution.

It is one of 29 extra rules issued by the Department for Transport in the Highway Code, which is now 135 pages long — 42 more than the previous version brought out in 1999.

Other additions include drivers being advised to stop if they are dazzled by the sun.

Answer 5

If it is your own car and you don't throw the cigarette end out of the window to cause litter you are entitled to smoke in it. If you have a car or van that belongs to your employer that is classed as an enclosed public space so you would be breaking the law and would receive a fine.

Answer 6

It's definitely true that you get three points on your license and 90 pounds fine if you get caught using a mobile phone whilst driving.
It's not illegal to smoke whilst driving but if you are involved in an accident then you could be prosecuted for smoking because they could argue that you weren't in full control of the vehicle. Its a new thing but i think it's a good thing.
Ban smoking altogether i say!!!

Answer 7

no you cant get a ticket its perfectly legal to smoke in your own car i wish people wouldn't answer questions they don't know the answer too, there are new amendments to the highway code but its not law, it says is if your involved in an accident whilst you were smoking then potentially you can be charged with dangerous driving that is it, your car is your own private place what right does the government have or anybody else for that matter to say you cant smoke in your own car none, next there be saying you cant smoke in your own home.

Answer 8

The Government wishes to incorporate the dangers of smoking, drinking, eating and looking into the vanity mirror whilst driving into the Highway Code. It is not illegal to smoke in your car. The reason the lorry driver was fined is that the cabin was his place of work and he also threw his cigarette end out of the window.

Answer 9

You can if your involved in accident according to the" New highway code".

truck drivers aren`t allowed to smoke in they`re cabs as it`s they`re place of work, a pretty stupid ruling as we are in those cabs all day and can`t always pull over for a smoke,
ANyone caught using a mobile phone should get a £1000 fine as well a ban as it`s dangerous.

Answer 10

Yes you can. You can also be fined for eating or drinking while at the wheel of your car. It is because you are 'driving without due care and attention' which is a motoring offence. You can also be given points on your licence for this.