smoking

[ttoni7]

is it illegal to smoke while driving?

[catcuddler]

i dont think it is but it should be.eating and drinking are smoking ties up one hand

[Bathsheba]

Not yet, but it soon will be, i have no doubt.

[Barmaid]

Smoking per se is not illegal, but its the same if you are doing anything else and driving (eating, using a phone etc) and you are not in full control of your vehicle. So you COULD be prosecuted for driving without due care and attention.

[WhiteBear]

dropping fag ends onthe floor is illegal, ive seen ppl getting a ticket for it!

[Buenchico]

Further to Barmaid's excellent answer:

Very few actions by drivers are specifically prohibited by legislation. For example, there's no law which specifically states that you can't drive on the 'wrong' side of the road. If the police see you doing it, they (together with the Crown Prosecution Service) have to decide which general motoring legislation you've contravened, if any. (e.g. 'driving without due care and attention' or 'dangerous driving'). In some cases (e.g. the guy who drives his milk float, a few yards at a time, along the wrong side of a deserted road at 5am) they'd be unable to to get any prosecution to succeed because the driver wouldn't have broken any laws.

It's just the same when they see someone smoking while driving. The police (and the CPS) would need to decide whether the driver was in full control of the vehicle. If so, he'd be immune from prosecution. However, it's worth noting that people have been successfully prosecuted for eating a Mars bar, or a sandwich, while driving.

Breaking the rules of the Highway Code isn't, in itself, an offence but a court can use the Code to provide guidance as to reasonable standards of driving. The Highway Code now refers to smoking as a 'distraction':
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/EDITORIAL/CARS/new s/36643.html

The CPS website, which gives guidance to prosecutors, doesn't mention smoking, per se, but it does state that selecting and lighting a cigarette while driving may provide sufficient grounds for a charge of driving without due care and attention.

Chris