Fuckin Pathetic: NJ to Ban Smoking In Cars if Kids are Present

[lurkerguy]

Same here but I wasn't about to fine the woman.

 

[Khadijah]

When i was a kid my granddad smoked with me in the car all the time and it didnt bother me or the many other smokers ive rode with thru my childhood. i think it just bothers some non smokers and others it dont, cuz i aint saying that the people who got upset by it are lying. just that it never fazed me that much as far as i can remember.

If they REALLY want to make a difference then just include not smoking around small kids in the parenting classes they give at local help centers for low income and shit like that where they teach parents how to take care of their kids better and help them with important shit that they might not know. Educate peope not to do it. Give a man a fish.........

 

[motorcyclist]

Fuck cell phone drivers!!!

Yeah, I ride a motorcycle and believe me bikers have to be the most defensive drivers alive. And it gets worse and worse with all these cell phone drivers. Idiots can't even walk and chew gum at the same time, and here they are carrying on a full blown conversation and totally oblivious to everything going on around them.

They have run tests of running drivers thru obstacle courses while talking on cell phones, and the cell phone drivers performed WORSE than drivers that were legally drunk! The only reason there are not laws against it is because the cell phone lobbyists have tons of money.

And how about those 16yr old kids that just got their license, and here they are running around town chatting away on their cell phone while blowing thru red lights...

Can you tell cell phone drivers piss me off?

 

[phr]

^
Not on Mythbusters. They performed worse under alcohol.

I'm against irresponsible cell phone drivers too, but I don't think that should merit getting pulled over.


Didn't NJ also ban smoking in Casinos? Or at least you could only smoke in small enclosed areas. WTF? I'm sure you can't smoke while you're playing poker anymore...

 

[Splatt]

SMSing or on the phone in Australia gets you pulled over if the police see's you normally. It is an obvious danger. For P1-Plate drivers (in New south wales that is the first year drivers license, [after the 6-month/100 hours logged assisted learning driver routine where a fully licensed sober passenger must always be in the car]) you can now not even use a hands-free cell phone while driving, nor carry more than one passenger in the car between 11pm - 6am. Always have to have your special plates showing. Pretty strict driving / road rules over here I think compared to the rest of the world. It now takes you basically 3.5 years to get your open license, and I think the alcohol reading is 0 in your first year, and 0.02 in the last two years before opens.


Edit: just realised how off topic these last few posts have become you guys hypnotyzed me


But on to a more closely related topic. Some parents just don't seem to give a shit about their children. I know (or KNEW i should now say, don't want to associate with them or anyone involved with them anymore) of families that smoke bongs and cigarettes all day long with the kid sitting within a metre of it all..

I don't know how they're going to enforce these smoking in the car with children laws, it has been discussed about over here too, if you're going to do it.. hold the smoke out the window and learn to blow it out the window. Or wait until you get out of the car and think of your childs health before a selfish habit(addiction).

 

[socko]

But on to a more closely related topic. Some parents just don't seem to give a shit about their children. I know (or KNEW i should now say, don't want to associate with them or anyone involved with them anymore) of families that smoke bongs and cigarettes all day long with the kid sitting within a metre of it all..

I was one of those kids. And I had so many health problems as a child when I still lived with my dad. Sometimes in the car when the windows were shut, as soon as he lit up, my face would swell up, eyes tear up, snot streaming from my nose, nausea, headache, etc. And it would go on like this the whole time because he chainsmoked the whole ride, no matter how long. I still get physically sick if i'm around cigarette smoke for more than a short time. I missed a lot of school from being sick. I realize most people probably aren't allergic to cigs like this and will probably never have kind of bad health reaction to them that I get. My brother, always in the car with us, wasn't nearly so sensitive to it. One of my friends in school had it worse then me. He still has severe respiratory and other health problems from his dad's smoking.

If they REALLY want to make a difference then just include not smoking around small kids in the parenting classes they give at local help centers for low income and shit like that where they teach parents how to take care of their kids better and help them with important shit that they might not know. Educate peope not to do it. Give a man a fish.........

Some people just don't care how their actions affect their children's health. Education should work for some people, those who care about their children but don't understand the health risk. But it isn't going to change the ones who don't care.
But I also don't think passing a law like this would work. They're still going to smoke in the house around their children. A ban on smoking in cars is already kind of invasive and could lead to something even more invasive like trying to pass and enforce a no-smoking law around children in the house. Overall, I think education, although not a perfect solution, is far better than passing laws.

 

[Khadijah]

^^You are a great example of a person who is able to use their life experience as a way to see things but is also able to think outside themself when it comes to this shit. I got mad respect that you are able to say YES, smoking irritates you, BUT it is still invasive and wrong for the government to try and control that much about our personal lives. this thread has some commentary from some people who dont seem to understand that the ends dont justify the means.

for example, child molestation is bad, that dont mean that police should be able to kick down the door of any home at any time to check for sexual predators, EVEN IF IT MEANS that in the end there is more predators bein caught. Same shit for this.

Smokin around kids is bad. BUT EVEN if a law that gets passed means that less smokin around kids happens, that dont change the fact that there is NO PLACE for a law like that in our society. The outcome might be good, but if the means used to get that outcome are wrong then its wrong from the start.

like i said before, Its all OK if it aint you right. If you dont like smoke and a law that says smokers can be arrested for smoking in their own homes gets passed, thats OK with you, cuz your personal happiness is achieved, regardless of how immoral unjust or unfair the means to achieve it are. but once it comes to other parenting issues, what if you like to let your kids play video games. But what if theres other people who feel SO STRONG about video games being dangerous and negative? People that hate video gaming just as much as you hate smoking? Then when they pass a law, so that THOSE people are happy, and you aint, then will it be unjust? or is it only unjust becuz its somethin you like. I might disagree with a lot of things people do, but i support their goddamn right to do it becuz if i dont, then it could be ME later someday getin my rights trampled on by people who "dont like it."

So, I gotta say thank you for your post and for your reasonable approach to this shit, Its good to see a point of view of a non smoker that is still able to seperate their feelings on it and understand the bigger picture. *Thumbs up*