POLL: Throwing cigarette butts out of cars?

coredumped · June 25, 2009, 10:41:05 PM

I keep hearing about police agencies cracking down on speeders to increase their revenue, what do you guys think about smokers tossing their butts out of their cars? Should they be fined for doing so?

Charles Hunter · June 25, 2009, 10:45:14 PM

Fined is so polite - how about flogging? Or being made to eat their own cigarette butts - and any others that may be on the ground near where they threw theirs.

But, realistically, the police have more pressing matters.

Keith-N-Jax · June 25, 2009, 10:45:30 PM

Not only fined, but made to clean up as well to go along with the punishment. Ever stop at a red light, looked to the side and see hundreds of butts on the ground.

chipwich · June 25, 2009, 10:46:59 PM

Every street corner here in Jacksonville seems to be littered with cigarette butts. Since I am not a smoker, I cannot claim to understand how inconvenient it is to have butts in your car's ashtray, but to me, it is incredibly unsightly and frustrating to see those butts all over the place (along with the rest of the motorist's stupid trash)

On the positive side, at least cig. butts are biodegradable (unlike soda bottles, drive thru straws, etc.)

reednavy · June 25, 2009, 10:58:17 PM

A cigarette butt is litter and by tossing it out, that is littering.

Yeah, ifwe don't get a good rain for over a week, they really start to pile up. The best is when it rains enough to get them flowing, but stop before the drain. We didn't have that issue today in my part of Mandarin for sure.

JeffreyS · June 25, 2009, 11:04:08 PM

I think it should be a small fine but it should be stopped.

Ocklawaha · June 25, 2009, 11:08:57 PM

Quote from: Charles Hunter on June 25, 2009, 10:45:14 PM
Fined is so polite - how about flogging? Or being made to eat their own cigarette butts - and any others that may be on the ground near where they threw theirs.

But, realistically, the police have more pressing matters.

Not really Charles, it might be a bit different here at home, however... One typically windy Oklahoma summer day, whilst driving through the bone dry wheat fields a car some distance ahead tossed out the butts. As I passed I thought I saw smoke, so I slowed and turned to double check. Before I could get back to the spot, the 6' high flames were leaping the fence line and racing up a hill. Kingfisher, Cashion, Piedmont and Crescent all scrambled their fire departments. I parked off a side road (at the time a city councilman myself) helped direct my own guys in. A farmer working just over the hill with a big cat dozier, finally saw me trying to flag him down and after some quick hand signals went into action cutting a line in front of the flaming wall. It was so fast, almost cartoon like. I wouldn't have EVER believed 30+ acres could be quick roasted so darn fast from some mindless smokers little crime. We finally got it stopped and thank God it didn't become several hundred acres. The worst part is you couldn't have outran it on foot.

OCKLAWAHA

mtraininjax · June 25, 2009, 11:12:44 PM

DON'T TRASH JACKSONVILLE. Sounds good, where did this City mantra go? Perhaps it left in the Mayor's 2nd term.

Keith-N-Jax · June 25, 2009, 11:14:39 PM

This is why you shouldnt be throwing things out of your car, especially half lite butts.

mtraininjax · June 25, 2009, 11:17:01 PM

Don't stop with butts, what about all the trash that seems to congregate around roads? Where does the trash come from? Billy Bob's pickup? Probably many of the same people who don't care about their cig butts.

Charles Hunter · June 25, 2009, 11:20:35 PM

Ock, I saw a thrown ciggy butt set the median of the Southside Connector on fire a couple months ago. Fortunately, the wind wasn't very high that day, or it could have been a problem for all those apartments if it was a west wind.

coredumped · June 25, 2009, 11:32:56 PM

I forgot about the don't trash jacksonville ads! They were pretty good.
http://s.ytimg.com/yt/swf/watch-vfl105354.swf
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLaGIW7r0jI
Anyway, I would never think to throw out a coke can or something, but people toss smokes out the window like it's nothing. Always at a red light and I have to smell it. Very annoying.

Obviously, I think these people should be fined for littering. It's easy revenue for JSO too!

Ocklawaha · June 25, 2009, 11:42:58 PM

Quote from: Charles Hunter on June 25, 2009, 11:20:35 PM
Ock, I saw a thrown ciggy butt set the median of the Southside Connector on fire a couple months ago. Fortunately, the wind wasn't very high that day, or it could have been a problem for all those apartments if it was a west wind.

Had I not seen it, I wouldn't have believed any of it. I just NEVER thought something so small, not even in a flame, could set off a massive wall of flame like that so damn fast. Good thing Florida doesn't have Oklahoma wind, it's not unusual to see wind approach tropical storm strength on a clear and sunny day. It's so regular, you have to adjust your habits to it. For example NEVER open car doors on both sides at once... Do that and every item in the car will be in Kansas before you can blink.

OCKLAWAHA

civil42806 · June 26, 2009, 04:00:25 AM

I would hope the police have better things to do with there time

midnightblackrx · June 26, 2009, 06:36:19 AM

I don't think its right for the City to finding new inventive ways of taxing it's citizens (i.e. traffic cameras, cig butts, dui, seat belt, etc)! Why not just make up a storm water fee or raise the millage rates? Uh, oh wait...

If it's sooo unsightly to look at butts while waiting at a light, there are a few options for you!

1. Dont look at the cigs
2. Run the red light
3. pick them up yourself (do you think its as bad of a poluttant as oil and gas?)

True, when conditions are right there is a fire threat but come on, in the city? Concrete is a great retardant.

POLL: Throwing cigarette butts out of cars?

Should people be fined for throwing cigarette butts out of cars?