Motorists call for total ban on smoking in cars

Nearly two thirds of motorists would like to see smoking in cars completely banned according to a new survey by Motorpoint.

The poll by the car supermarket giant found 67% of drivers wanted smokers to extinguish their cigarettes before getting behind the wheel. Some 2,028 people took part in the week-long online study.

Smoking in cars is currently the subject of hot debate after Professor Terence Stephenson, the new president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, called for a complete end to smoking in cars with children.

It is already outlawed in all company cars and was recently included in the revised version of the Highway Code as a dangerous distraction (complete with a £60 on-the-spot fine).

Says David Shelton, Managing Director of Motorpoint: “It is clear from our poll that it is only a matter of time before smoking in cars follows the same route as mobile phones and drinking driving, and becomes totally outlawed.”