Smoking while driving, legal or illegal?
December 31, 2019
Par: webstudio_editor
Dernière mise à jour: December 31, 2019
Temps de lecture: 2 minutes
Although the issue has been debated for years, smoking while driving is not always considered an offence in France. Unlike using a mobile phone while driving (Article R412-6-1 of the Highway Code), smoking is not prohibited. In France, a motorist has the right to hold his cigarette, electronic cigarette, pipe or cigar in his hand while driving, but subject to certain conditions. Any activity likely to harm good driving practices may be punished by law. It is important to remember that smoking while driving can be dangerous for the driver, passengers and other motorists. Indeed, a glowing cigarette butt dropped in the vehicle, a burn or smoke in the eyes may bother the driver and cause a possible accident. A cigarette butt thrown into nature takes more than twelve years to decompose and pollutes up to 500 liters of water. Harmful to the environment, a cigarette butt that is not properly extinguished can cause fires, particularly in times of drought. Furthermore, motorists caught throwing their cigarette butts on the road can be fined 135 euros by sworn officers (gendarmerie, police, National Hunting and Wildlife Office, National Forestry Office, Departmental Directorate of Territories and the Sea, etc.). However, for public health reasons, the law clearly prohibits smoking in a car when a minor (particularly a child) is inside. This ban, applicable since July 2015, provided for in Article L. 3512-9 of the Public Health Code, concerns both the driver and the passengers. The smoker then risks a fine of 68 euros (which can reach up to 450 euros in the event of an increase).
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