Call to ban smoking while driving

Simon Ettinghausen, of the Local Authority Road Safety Officers' Association, said smoking was a dangerous distraction.

He said there were concerns the ban on smoking in public places from 1 July might tempt more drivers to light up.

But Forest, a pro-smoking group, opposed the idea while the Association of British Drivers called it absurd.

Representatives from the Local Authority Road Safety Officers' Association are to meet government officials in coming weeks to discuss the proposal.

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The Department of Health said there were no plans to introduce a ban but if the association submitted a proposal, it would consider one.

Mr Ettinghausen said: "Anything you do in the car is a distraction, whether it's eating, drinking, using a mobile phone or smoking. But smoking in particular can be very dangerous."

"If you drop a lit cigarette, your concentration on driving will immediately vanish."

But Simon Clark, of Forest, called for evidence to prove it was dangerous and said there were already laws in place to deal with careless drivers.

'Ban it' mentality

He said: "Are we going to ban people retuning the radio or changing a CD?"

Hugh Bladon, of the Association of British Drivers (ABD), said: "We've got a 'ban it' mentality in this country.

"We've got a 'ban it' mentality in this country"
Hugh Bladon, Association of British Drivers

Is a ban wise?

"I personally don't think the ABD will want to know about banning smoking."

The proposal has been supported by campaign group Action on Smoking and Health.

The Highway Code lists smoking while driving as a distraction.

In less than seven weeks, smoking in all enclosed public places will be banned across England, bringing it in line with the rest of the UK.

RELATED INTERNET LINKS
Smoke Free England
Department of Health
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