TOT; Smoking in cars

[David Lang]

So what happens if you are giving a lift to a 17 year old smoker? Presumably he can smoke, but you can't?

[R D S]

Presumably he can't, as there's an under 18 in the car.

[ARW]

What if the passenger is female?

Would that not alter the pronoun?

[Andy Burns]

No, the ban applies to all occupants of the vehicle, if

(a) it is enclosed,

(b) there is more than one person present in the vehicle, and

(c) a person under the age of 18 is present in the vehicle.

[Robin]

Nope.

The explanatory memorandyum to the legislation ought to be a simple guide but I think it's rather convoluted:

"7.11 It will be an offence: o to smoke in a private vehicle with someone under age 18 present; and

o. if you are the driver, to fail to prevent smoking in a private vehicle with someone under age 18 present.

7.12 It will not be an offence for an underage person to smoke if they are alone in a vehicle because of the requirement for there to be more than one person present for a private vehicle to be smokefree. So, for instance, a car with a 17 year old driver on their own does not become a smokefree place. But if there is another person in the car, whether under 18 or over, the vehicle is smokefree. If the additional person is under 18, then it is important that they are protected by the legislation. If the additional person is over 18 then it is important that it is an offence for the adult to smoke."

I think the regs (SI 2015/286) are clearer:

"2.-(1) Regulation 11 of the Smoke-free (Exemptions and Vehicles) Regulations 2007(1) is amended as follows.

(2) After paragraph (1) insert-

"(1A) A vehicle that is not smoke-free by virtue of paragraph (1), or any part of such a vehicle, is smoke-free if-

(a) it is enclosed,

(b) there is more than one person present in the vehicle, and

(c) a person under the age of 18 is present in the vehicle."

And before you ask, I don't know how much you'd need to use your angle grinder to convert from enclosed to not enclosed :))

[Andrew Gabriel]

For smoking in buildings, it has to be open on 3 sides to not count, IIRC. So maybe if you removed the windscreen and side windows? ;-)

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Which means pubs etc provide a powerful heater for their smoking customers. Very eco friendly.

[Broadback]

Another stupid law. Not that I do not agree with it but police cannot police the mobile phone regulations, they are going to find it impossible to police this. In fact it has been reported that some police forecloses are going to ignore it. It is a sad day when the police , in effect, make the laws, they are there, or so I thought, to ensure they are obeyed, not pick and choose.

[David Lang]

Even if all the occupants are smokers?

[Tim Watts]

He can - that's specific case is written into the law.

[Nightjar]

On 17/10/2015 16:48, Andrew Gabriel wrote: ...

It is that at least half the side area must be open, but doors and windows do not count towards the total.

[Andy Burns]

He could if he was on his own, but not if he's accompanied by anyone else (regardless of their age).

[ss]

So would this be correct 2 people in car both over 18 both smoke. Car must be smoke free?

[Andy Burns]

They can smoke provided there's no other reason that makes it a smokefree vehicle

For now you'll have to manually apply these changes

to this

[charles]

and if I give a lift to someone as part of my charitable work, I have to display a NO SMOKING sign in the car.

[Tim Watts]

Ok - I see that now.

How weird...

[Mike Lander]

Presumably it's just another glitch in the law that will get fixed.

[Robin]

Have you been told what to do if you are driving on a motorway with 2 or more passengers when one of them starts smoking? The legislation offers a statutory defence if you can show you "took reasonable steps to cause the person in question to stop smoking" but ISTM all you can do in those circumstances is ask. And perhaps record yourself doing (tricky without a handsfree mobile).

[Nightjar]

Only if the car is a building.

[Nightjar]

... and one that is a public space or a workspace.