Listen Live

No one fined for smoking in cars

Just three warnings, two years ago

Only three people have been warned in Devon and Cornwall in the three years since a smoking ban in cars with under 18s in came into force – and no one has been fined.

It became illegal to smoke in a car, or other vehicle, with anyone under 18 on 1 October 2015, to protect children and young people from the dangers of second-hand smoke. Both the driver and the smoker could be fined £50.

But a Freedom of Information Request to Devon and Cornwall Police revealed that since its introduction, the force has issued only three warnings to offenders in breach of the law.

That means either the law has proved very effective - people are no longer smoking in cars when children are with them - or they're getting away with it. Int he first year after the law came in, no one at all was fined in the whole of the country. At that time, the Police Federation was reported as saying the law was hard to enforce as it didn't allow on-the-spot fines.

All three warnings in Devon and Cornwall came in 2016.

The law applies:

  • to any private vehicle that is enclosed wholly or partly by a roof
  • when people have the windows or sunroof open, or the air conditioning on
  • when someone sits smoking in the open doorway of a vehicle

The law does not apply to:

  • e-cigarettes (vaping)
  • a driver who is 17 years old or older if they are on their own in the car
  • a convertible car with the roof completely down

 

More from Local News

Listen Live
On Air Now Through The Evening Playing Never Gonna Give You Up Rick Astley