It’s that time of year again, sunny and dry with a chance of careless smokers. I watched another one take the last puff and then toss the smouldering butt out the window onto the highway while he waited in front of me at a red light.
All it needed was the breezy nudge of another passing vehicle to find it’s way into the dormant grass on the shoulder to really get things started.
Careless smokers may be reported to the police. It’s an offence under the Motor Vehicle Act to discard things on a highway.
When an unthinking driver tossed his cigarette as I walked up to the vehicle during a traffic stop I used to offer them the opportunity of picking it up themselves or I would do it for them at a cost of $109.
They would look at me, trying to decide if I was serious or not. When it was clear that I was, every one of them chose to keep the $109 in their pocket and retrieved the butt.
You might also consider notifying the Ministry of Forests and Range. They are interested in hearing from you about incidents like this. Call *5555 on your cell phone or (800) 663-5555 from a land line.
Their enforcement officers may choose to use the provisions of the Wildfire Act to penalize careless individuals.
A violation ticket for mishandling a burning substance has a penalty of $575.
I chose instead to simply call the phone number that was written on the company vehicle. “It’s very poor advertising for your business.” I told the receptionist. “Yes,” she replied, “especially since half of BC is burning right now. We’ll find out who it was and give them hell for it!” I hope that she did.
Story URL: https://www.drivesmartbc.ca/behaviour/careless-smokers
-- Tim Schewe Road Safety Advocate DriveSmartBC.ca
