If using one’s handphone while driving is illegal, shouldn’t smoking while driving also be considered an offence?
The purpose of banning the use of mobile devices is to prevent drivers from becoming distracted while they’re behind the wheel, and the bigger goal is to improve road safety for all road users.
Indeed, under the new laws introduced earlier this year, even the act of holding one’s mobile device while driving is considered an offence. Previously, it was only a crime to use such devices while behind the wheel.
One could argue, then, that smoking is as much of a distraction as a smartphone. If you have to search for where you placed that pack of cigarettes, you’re already taking your eyes and attention away from the road. When you reach for a lighter and light up, your attention is also diverted.
Even if a passenger were to hand you a lit cigarette (or place it in your mouth), it’s still a potential distraction. Imagine the danger of a lit cigarette accidentally slipping and falling onto your lap, seat or floor. It’s a potential fire hazard. All it takes is for the lit cigarette to come into contact with a receipt or piece of tissue.
Banning smoking while driving could help clean up our roads, too. How often have we seen smokers flicking their cigarette butts out the window once they’re done?
In my opinion, if you want to smoke, you should pull over and park. It’ll be a chance to rest (especially if it’s a long drive) and even use your mobile device, without fear of flouting the law.
If smoking while driving did become an offence, it might encourage smokers to cut down, too, since they can’t do it while they’re driving. Plus, without the lingering smell of tobacco in your car, passengers will find your car’s interior a more pleasant place to be in.
