Laws making it illegal to smoke while driving if children in car

It's not a question of freedom here, it's a question of rights. Childrens, baby, newborn are human beings.

You can't decide whether or not you inject second hand smoke in your children's lungs. This is basic common sens. You don't own your childrens, you raise them. If you're a good parent, then you'll want the best for them and smoking in the car while they're there isn't a smart choice.

I almost got into a few fights telling people at red lights what the f*ck they were doing smoking in the car, windows up, with 2 baby seats in the back.

Remember; laws are made for dumbass and ignorants who abuse/don't make sens. Same thing for using cellphones in the car, texting, alcool, etc. Some ignorants abused and there you go, laws appeared. They must prohibit it, because people wouldn't listen otherwise. This is how society is.

 

Children are born to unfit parents everyday. "unfit" is subjective but I'd bet we could get a majority to agree on some basics.

There, now that we have a majority lets pass a law prohibiting those people from having children. Hmm... Since contraception is not a guarantee, lets pass a law prohibiting those people from having sex. But wait, they can't be trusted so lets pass a law prohibiting them from having genitalia.

 

I am not surprised that someone has finally tried to take things to extreme. Let's play the game.

Well, since so many people out there claim that they can drink and drive without any problems, let's just abolish all drunk driving laws. Well heck, let's abolish ALL of the DUI laws because we shouldn't let the government dictate what we do with our own bodies.

See? You are taking things to extremes. I was not trying to debate children being born to unfit parents, and making it illegal for an unfit parent to conceive. Let us try to keep on subject here please. What I AM saying is that if you ARE a parent, you should not be smoking in a CONFINED SPACE of a car with the children in the car. Are you saying that we should all just say screw it, and let those children be subjected to emphysema, and potential lung cancer, just so that their parents can have the freedom to smoke whenever and wherever they want? Would you like it if your child was on a bus and everyone on the bus was smoking? I am willing to bet you wouldn't.

 

Cigs just need to go away all together.

 

Should just ban all cigs.

 

Lets make more laws, yay!

 

I would not, and never have, advocated smoking anywhere around a child.
^ thats important and stands by itself.

I also would not advocate placing the government in a parental role and running to them looking for them to solve all of our problems.

As for your example about drunk driving, it might surprise you to know that I would, in fact, support the abolishing of drunk driving laws. This is not the same as supporting drunk driving. Not by a long shot.

 

So we should ban it because a child might get sick. I'm ok with prosecuting someone for child endangerment if a doctor can prove the smoking caused the health issue. But until that happens everyone else should mind their own business. It's using this type of logic that gives others the idea it's ok to apply it elsewhere.

You're accepting government as the answer. Don't try and put lip stick on the pig as it will always be a pig. While you're up there on your do the right thing soap box what are you doing to inform anyone you see smoking with a child of the dangers. Do you roll your window down and tell them anything? Or is it just too easy to support another law?

You said those poor kids. Using that logic clearly their parents aren't the brightest bulbs on the tree. Should the government take the kids away since they know what is best for them? Do you see what a slippery slope this is?

 

This. Isn't nothing but a revenue generating law passed on the premiss of "saving innocent lives" all while giving dear government the power to decide when someone isn't capable of taking care of themselves.

 

The line between supporting and allowing is pretty thin and blurry on that one. By saying that you don't think it should be illegal to drive drunk, you're saying that you think it should be legal, and therefore allowable.

Couple the fact that alcohol impairs your judgement, and the ridiculous number of people involved in drunk driving accidents every year, I'd say you're really not thinking that logic through. If these people were capable of making the correct assessment on their ability to drive safely, the accident rate would be effectively zero, barring the small percentage of unavoidables such as hitting deer, etc.

 

And I bet you NEVER give it any thought about all those cars, trucks and big trucks and buses sitting next to you at those stop lights and the fumes that they put off that DOES go into you truck. Now that's some good thinking you have there.

When I am around people like you I pour the smoke from my sig. If one has your problem, ones need to stay home where your air might be clean. If I am outside and someone has a problem with me smoking then guess what? MOVE! Problem solved.

 

This gives me a chuckle when you know how dirty the air in the average home is compared to the air just outside. And here all these "woe is the children crowd" don't realize they're probably guilty of polluting their own air also. Oh the irony.

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/a...uality-could-be-jeopardizing-your-health.aspx

 

So what you're saying is that you're kind of a dick...

My favorite hobby is spraying liquefied dog feces in the area surrounding my personal bubble. If somebody's got a problem with the way it smells and the risk of disease, then they really should have stayed home.

 

And people who drink are not smart enough to drink around children ..... So should there be a law about that too?

Yes I do smoke. Yes it was the dumbest thing I started 32 years ago. Yes I am well aware it is bad for me. Yes I have tried to quit several times. No I do not drink (Maybe 6 Drinks a year) stopped right after my oldest child was born (22yrs Ago).No I do not need a law to tell me what to do around children and what not to do around them. As has been said here already in this thread a fair amount of people in the US need to be told what to do. Why that is the case I do not know however, because common sense is no longer common everything has to be spoon fed to a large portion of the US citizens. If something is legal and the person using product is of legal age to do so then they accept the consequence's of doing so.
End Of Rant

Cypher

 

What they ought to do is enforce some of the laws they already have. Here in MD it's illegal to use a handheld phone in the car (primary offense, too) but the enforcement is so lax everyone still does it. It's a health/safety issue just like smoking with kids in the car would be (kill someone instantly vs kill someone over time). I've literally seen people stopped at a light chatting away with a police cruiser right next to them. The cop ignores it and the talker keeps on talking. So what's the point of more laws? So the politicians can feel good about some legistaltive "accomplishment" that they've passed?

 

Yes, because millions of people are way to dumb to figure out things on there own.

What's worse then smoking in the same car as your child. Having multiple children when can't afford your first child. This is also something the government should crack down on, because of all these dumb parents leaching off the government to support there 8 children.

 

If this is done are you prepared for the Tax increases that will follow? Take a look sometime in your state budget and see how much money the state gets from "Tobacco Taxes" Just throwing that out there , we recently had this discussion a few months ago I did go look it up in this little bitty state all Tobacco sales added 38 million dollars to the states coffers. No it is not a justification for tobacco just something to note before one starts calling for bans on certain things.

Cypher

 

While this raises a good point, in that I think it is wrong to basically force a kid to breathe and smell that shit, and to have to litterally smell like a smoker all the time because the parents cant seem to have any common sense.
On the other side of the issue I have is the way this country has gone law crazy. Oh a bunch of us dont like this....make it illegal, add a law. Its already gotten to the point that you cant even keep up with what is legal and whats not.
Case in point look at the litany of absurd laws that are out there now:
http://www.stupidlaws.com/laws/united-states/

With that said, I think this would be one of the good laws, unlike the ones that are trying to get passsed in California where it is illegal to smoke outside in certain areas. If you choose to smoke, that is your right. It's outside. If you dont like it, move away from the smoker, and conversely if a smoker is going to light up, do it away from people.

But alas, common curtesy is as common as sense. Just my .02,

 

I am 100% against anyone smoking in a car with children but I'm torn as to whether or not there should be a law against it. While I'm all for the result the law is shooting for, I don't feel the government should step in and govern every aspect of our lives. On the other hand, if people are too stupid to not smoke in a car with their children and giving police a law to enforce to help curb it is the only way to stop some people, then that side of me says protect the children.

 

I disagree. If someone chooses to smoke, then that is their choice. My problem comes when those who DO smoke think that those of us that DON'T smoke should just "deal with it or move on".

So we should wait until AFTER a child, who has no control of their environment, is actually sick or injured, THEN step up and do something? Remember, then general scope of this thread is about those who smoke in CARS in a confined space, with children who can't do anything about it. Let's try to keep this on subject. As for me saying/doing anything, I have, and I do. Of course that lady that gave her cigarette to the daughter I gave a yell at when I drove past. I got the one finger salute of course.

Again you are going to extremes about taking children away, etc. That is not my point. My point is that on MY side, I agree with passing a law that will make it illegal to smoke in the confined space of a car, with children inside.

Yes I DO give thought to all the cars and trucks exhaust. While I can't prevent it, when my children were in the car, or if it was bad enough to bother me, I would put my AC system on recirculate, keeping out as much of the fumes as possible.

I love your last paragraph. You say that you like to puff away around "people like me". What? You mean people who actually give a damn about what air I breath? Your thought of if I have a problem I should stay home is so one-sided. So what, because YOU want to smoke, I should be the one who concedes and deals with it? Using your opinion as a background, I could just as easily tell YOU that if you want to smoke, you should stay home. Why is it that I have to accept YOU, and not you accept me? Poison your lungs all you want, more power to you, but just because you want to poison YOUR lungs, shouldn't mean that I have to change MY life.

Why is my side of this, in my opinion of course, the one that is most important? Because smoking causes cancer. It is a fact, and not an opinion. So you should be the one who concedes since YOU are doing the act that could kill or affect others. More than once I have taken a glass of water and poured it on a cigarette someone was smoking because the smoke was around me and my children, in an area designated as non-smoking. And before you get all huffy about that, it is no different than you "puffing away" around those who don't like it. The difference here is that smokers should show some common DECENCY around other people when they smoke. Why? Because their smoking DIRECTLY and IMMEDIATELY affects those around them.