The dangers of smoking and driving

Can I smoke while driving?

Although smoking is not specifically prohibited while driving, it could potentially be deemed a distraction under NSW Road Rule 297(1), which refers to “not having proper control of the vehicle”. An on-the-spot fine for this offence in NSW is $448 and 3 demerit points. The on-the-spot fine for committing this offence in a school zone is $561 with 4 demerit points. Therefore, it is advisable to refrain from smoking or vaping while driving – and it is illegal to do so when a child under the age of 16 is in the car.

Smoking or vaping with children in a car

Smoking in a motor vehicle with a child under the age of 16 is an offence under the Public Health (Tobacco) Act 2008. This law was introduced to protect kids from second-hand tobacco smoke, which can harm their growing lungs and can lead to an increased risk of asthma and other respiratory infections.

From December 2015, it also became an offence to use an electronic cigarette in a car with a child under the age of 16 years on board. This includes vapes. Any driver or passenger who breaks this law can be issued a $250 on-the-spot fine. 

Discarding lit cigarettes is an offence

There are also heavy penalties for people caught throwing lit cigarette butts from vehicles, which can also start bush and grass fires, especially during days of total fire ban or during bush fire danger periods.

In January 2020, a new law was brought in to target this dangerous behaviour. A driver in NSW caught tossing a lit cigarette can be penalised five demerit points. If a driver is caught committing this offence during a total fire ban, the penalty increases to 10 demerit points and a fine of up to $11,000.

Passengers caught tossing a lit cigarette on or near a roadway are subject to a $660 fine – and that penalty doubles during total fire bans.

Can flicked cigarette butts really start a fire?

The answer is yes – and there’s science to back this, thanks to former UTS forensic science student, Jennifer Dainer, who studied precisely this scenario as part of her honours project. She conducted a study under the supervision of officers from Parramatta Fire Station, where lit cigarettes were thrown into grass beside a road in the western Sydney suburb of Prospect.

In three out of the 75 trials (4 per cent), the grass caught alight and started to burn, requiring firefighters to extinguish the flames.

The prevailing conditions were recorded as a temperature of 27ºC, wind speed of 40km/h from the north-west, fuel (grass) moisture content approximately 12 per cent of oven dry weight, and low humidity of 14 per cent.

Subsequent laboratory trials found cigarette butts ignited hay in 33 per cent of cases: ignition increased when wind speed increased, fuel moisture decreased (though wetter fuels could ignite with the application of wind) and the degree of contact between the fuel bed and combustion area of the cigarette increased.

Ms Dainer also undertook a survey of Abbott Road in the nearby suburb of Seven Hills over a three-week period.

During the survey, 426 cigarette butts were collected from a 60 square metre area of the median strip.

The wind draught created by a line of passing traffic was recorded and found to be sufficient to increase the potential for a cigarette butt to start a fire on the roadside, even if the prevailing conditions were calm.