Hot Topic (10/8): Trucker fined for smoking in his rig. Is this law okay?
“It’s just going too far,” said Larry Jespersen, a driver from Calgary.
“I mean, where are they going to stop? It’s ridiculous. That’s his environment, that’s his home, he’s by himself . . . This has just crossed the line. There’s got to be limits.”
Ontario Provincial Police stopped the tractor-trailer on Wednesday around noon after noticing the lone driver headed down Highway 401 in Lakeshore, near Windsor, with a cigarette between his lips.
The officer ticketed the 48-year-old London, Ont., driver for smoking in an enclosed workplace.
Const. Shawna Coulter said it’s the first time an officer from her department enforced the legislation, which has been in place since May 2006.
The Smoke-Free Ontario Act states that “no person shall smoke tobacco or hold lighted tobacco in any enclosed public place or enclosed workplace.”
Neil MacKenzie, the health unit’s tobacco program manager, said that includes the interior of a vehicle.
“If it’s a work vehicle, then they are required to have it smoke free,” he said.
“We enforce the legislation that’s provided to us,” said MacKenzie. “Our interpretation of that legislation isn’t quite so important as it is to make sure we have universally and fairly applied the legislation. Whether or not we think it’s fair is almost secondary. It’s the law that we’ve been charged with enforcing.”
Coulter added butting out while driving also eliminates one more distraction.
She compared it to talking on the phone and driving, which has recently been outlawed.
“When you’re smoking you’re not paying attention to the road,” she said.
Windsor Star
twilhelm@thestar.canwest.com
© Copyright (c) Canwest News Service
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Do you think this law is okay? Should workers be prohibited from smoking in their vehicles?
Are smokers disciminated against?
Yea well in this case his "rig" can also be his home. I DO think it is to far. Company policy is one thing, law is another.
That is crazy! He lives in his truck! For the average smoker I will assume about a pack a day or more for truck drivers (out of sheer boredom) that would mean they pull over 20 or more times a day to smoke. Then where would they smoke? On the side of the road? Is that safer? I say let em smoke in the truck. I do not think smoking is a distraction comparable to talking on a cell phone, for smokers its second nature and the cigarette is almost another apendage, especially for heavy smokers who ALWAYS have a cigarette in their hand.
One could even argue that it would be a distraction to not smoke if you are a smoker, then you have withdrawal symptoms or you are constantly thinking where can I pull over, where can I pull over.
I agree with Wlmom2. A trucker's "rig" IS his home. People just do not understand how much time truck drivers end up spending in their trucks. I mean...if they are not in the house with their family...where do you think they are? Their other home...their truck!
Quoting WImom2:
Yea well in this case his "rig" can also be his home. I DO think it is to far. Company policy is one thing, law is another.
I agree with this law. When a trucker is driving, he is on company time and is "at work." He should smoke when he takes his breaks, or when he's settled in for the night in his rig ... that's when it's his home. If the truck doesn't belong to him, he shouldn't smoke in it at all unless his company says it's okay. If the truck isn't his, and he moves on to another job, a trucker who doesn't smoke could be subjected to the smell that plastic and upholstery absorb.
I don't think smokers are discriminated against at all. We all inhale enough pollutants, and the safety of our food supply is questionable. Anything we can do that makes for a healthier environment for us and our children is a good thing.
I've never smoked, and I hate the smell. I do understand if there is a rule of "no smoking in the workplace". BUT....that would assume the truck belongs to the company, in which case, any number of other drivers may use the truck and be affected. Many truckers own their own rig. If it's his own, then I don't think it's fair to say he can't.
Quoting EireLass:
I've never smoked, and I hate the smell. I do understand if there is a rule of "no smoking in the workplace". BUT....that would assume the truck belongs to the company, in which case, any number of other drivers may use the truck and be affected. Many truckers own their own rig. If it's his own, then I don't think it's fair to say he can't.
I agree.
It is a truism that almost any sect, cult, or religion will legislate its creed into law if it acquires the political power to do so, and will follow it by suppressing opposition, subverting all education to seize early the minds of the young, and by killing, locking up, or driving underground all heretics. - Robert A. Heinlein
I agree!
Quoting Bennett121:
That is crazy! He lives in his truck! For the average smoker I will assume about a pack a day or more for truck drivers (out of sheer boredom) that would mean they pull over 20 or more times a day to smoke. Then where would they smoke? On the side of the road? Is that safer? I say let em smoke in the truck. I do not think smoking is a distraction comparable to talking on a cell phone, for smokers its second nature and the cigarette is almost another apendage, especially for heavy smokers who ALWAYS have a cigarette in their hand.
One could even argue that it would be a distraction to not smoke if you are a smoker, then you have withdrawal symptoms or you are constantly thinking where can I pull over, where can I pull over.
.... this is ridiculous and not ok! he lives in his truck! and last i checked, smoking while driving is not illegal so the lady comparing it to talking on a cell phone is a moron. in some places the only place you are allowed to smoke is in your car with the windows rolled up.... what will this guy do then?! i understand the cops wanting to enforce the rule of no smoking in the workplace, but it really needs to be modified if it applies to rigs
Quoting Bennett121:
That is crazy! He lives in his truck! For the average smoker I will assume about a pack a day or more for truck drivers (out of sheer boredom) that would mean they pull over 20 or more times a day to smoke. Then where would they smoke? On the side of the road? Is that safer? I say let em smoke in the truck. I do not think smoking is a distraction comparable to talking on a cell phone, for smokers its second nature and the cigarette is almost another apendage, especially for heavy smokers who ALWAYS have a cigarette in their hand.
One could even argue that it would be a distraction to not smoke if you are a smoker, then you have withdrawal symptoms or you are constantly thinking where can I pull over, where can I pull over.
I agree .
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on Oct. 8, 2009 at 1:59 AM