Some of the lawmakers here in NJ want to keep people from smoking in their OWN cars.... ???

I am a non-smoker...but I think smokers have a right to smoke in their own vehicles...

This is just plain PERSECUTION.  >:(

Some people can't leave well enough alone...no wonder why some people hate NJ! ::)

if it gets to that point, i can guarantee the "tinted window" business will skyrocket!!

I don't care if people smoke in their cars its their right.

I honestly think George Orwell's '1984' is happening (at least some of it)right now, in 2005!

I can just see 'the anti-smoking ministry'.....

I don't smoke but COME ON...Smokers have rights,and most smokers I know are polite about non-smokers.

I honestly think George Orwell's '1984' is happening (at least some of it)right now, in 2005!

I can just see 'the anti-smoking ministry'.....

I don't smoke but COME ON...Smokers have rights,and most smokers I know are polite about non-smokers.

In Orwell's 1984, nobody but the inner party elite could afford a car, and everybody smoked.  I mean, they smoked the one brand available in that Stalinist dystopia--Victory Cigarettes--and they were horrible.

It's pretty disturbing if they want to pass a law prohibiting tobacco use on your own property (your car), though TSitM didn't post a link, I'll bet it has something to do with protecting "the children."  I can see the new fascism arriving as a mercy mission for the good of the kids!
::)
I find it particularly ironic it's NJ proposing this stupid law.  I might have slightly more respect for the legislators if the air outside your car  in New Jersey was not also filled with carcinogens!  Heck, one drive through the industrial corridor of northern Jersey with your windows open equals a year's worth of Lucky Strikes!
:D

Didn't they pass this garbage in California already?  It seems like those dang government people never pass laws to expand freedom, but only take more of it away.  I never like banning smoking in public places, but now they're going for private places.  What the hell is this country coming to?  Sometimes I think states like New York only allow smoking to keep tax revenue up, but would ban it in a heartbeat if taxing tobacco was somehow declared unconstitutional.  Fascists.

"No man's freedoms are safe while the legislature is in session." -Mark Twain.

In Orwell's 1984, nobody but the inner party elite could afford a car, and everybody smoked.  I mean, they smoked the one brand available in that Stalinist dystopia--Victory Cigarettes--and they were horrible.

It's pretty disturbing if they want to pass a law prohibiting tobacco use on your own property (your car), though TSitM didn't post a link, I'll bet it has something to do with protecting "the children."  I can see the new fascism arriving as a mercy mission for the good of the kids!
::)
I find it particularly ironic it's NJ proposing this stupid law.  I might have slightly more respect for the legislators if the air outside your car  in New Jersey was not also filled with carcinogens!  Heck, one drive through the industrial corridor of northern Jersey with your windows open equals a year's worth of Lucky Strikes!
:D
I don't live in Northern NJ....so try not to say ALL of NJ is POLLUTION...it's not. South Jersey has several state parks which are very nice and clean...And this part of the State rarely has air-quality problems. But we do have SOME problems that the North has...I would NOT walk in CAMDEN at night..alone. It's South Jersey's 'Newark' as far as crime(carjackings,drugs,drive-by shootings,gangs and last but not least RAPES AND MURDERS...no wonder why Camden is home to a Level 1 Trauma Center!

Let's face it, is NJ really going to get any better because of some smoking laws? I think not. I passed through there a couple days ago. It's one of the ugliest places I've ever seen. No offence to you in New Jersey, but wow.

Didn't they pass this garbage in California already?  It seems like those dang government people never pass laws to expand freedom, but only take more of it away.  I never like banning smoking in public places, but now their going for private places.  What the hell is this country coming to?  Sometimes I think states like New York only allow smoking to keep tax revenue up, but would ban it in a heartbeat if taxing tobacco was somehow declared unconstitutional.  Fascists.

"No man's freedoms are safe while the legislature is in session." -Mark Twain.


No, California has banned it in restaurants and bars (putting many bars out of business) but they haven't stooped to banning smoking in your own vehicle... yet... :-\\

Let's face it, is NJ really going to get any better because of some smoking laws? I think not. I passed through there a couple days ago. It's one of the ugliest places I've ever seen. No offence to you in New Jersey, but wow.


Living in Texas will spoil you.

I haven't been to New Jersey since the 1980's, so I don't know what it's like today.

Didn't they pass this garbage in California already?  It seems like those dang government people never pass laws to expand freedom, but only take more of it away.  I never like banning smoking in public places, but now they're going for private places.  What the hell is this country coming to?  Sometimes I think states like New York only allow smoking to keep tax revenue up, but would ban it in a heartbeat if taxing tobacco was somehow declared unconstitutional.  Fascists.

"No man's freedoms are safe while the legislature is in session." -Mark Twain.




FYI-NYC banned smoking in bars 2 years ago





Cat

FYI-NYC banned smoking in bars 2 years ago



I meant ban all smoking, even in your own private home.

Let's face it, is NJ really going to get any better because of some smoking laws? I think not. I passed through there a couple days ago. It's one of the ugliest places I've ever seen. No offence to you in New Jersey, but wow.
Please say what part of NJ you passed through...I live in Absecon(Southern NJ)..certainly not everywhere in NJ is ugly...our state parks are far from ugly...same for the shore towns like Ocean City, Avalon, Stone Harbor, Cape May, Ventnor, Margate, Longport...We have the Pine Barrens which are very pristine and beautiful,also very relaxing to picnic and camp out there! I'd say that NJ has some truly ugly cities like Newark(the carjacking capital of the Northeast..a dubious honor) and Camden (South Jersey's own ugly,crime-ridden,drug infested city DON'T GO THERE ALONE AT NIGHT!)Most of Southern NJ is small towns and farms..where do you think Jersey tomatoes and Jersey sweet corn come from...also blueberries as well as cranberry bogs.

I don't live in Northern NJ....so try not to say ALL of NJ is POLLUTION...it's not. South Jersey has several state parks which are very nice and clean...And this part of the State rarely has air-quality problems. But we do have SOME problems that the North has...I would NOT walk in CAMDEN at night..alone. It's South Jersey's 'Newark' as far as crime(carjackings,drugs,drive-by shootings,gangs and last but not least RAPES AND MURDERS...no wonder why Camden is home to a Level 1 Trauma Center!

Bayonne and Elizabeth were some of the most polluted areas of the country.  I'm sure they've made some improvements.  Legend had it that a year in Bayonne would peel a coat of paint off your car!  That's why I specified the northern industrial corridor.  Areas of rural Jersey still merit the "Garden State" motto--Princeton area, state forests, Cape May, etc.
Camden = Compton east
and Trenton is pretty terrifying.  Tough cities.

So, why do they want ban smoking in private passenger cars?

You know, prohibition doesn't work. 

Bayonne and Elizabeth were some of the most polluted areas of the country.  I'm sure they've made some improvements.  Legend had it that a year in Bayonne would peel a coat of paint off your car!  That's why I specified the northern industrial corridor.  Areas of rural Jersey still merit the "Garden State" motto--Princeton area, state forests, Cape May, etc.
Camden = Compton east
and Trenton is pretty terrifying.  Tough cities.

So, why do they want ban smoking in private passenger cars?

You know, prohibition doesn't work.
Camden absolutely freaks me out. I've been in Trenton for mental health consumer rallies near the State House...and the place is crawling with cops...Trenton is a tough city...But Camden is worse.

It is nice to see that NJ lawmakers have solved all the others problems in our great Garden State that they are concentrating on smoking in cars.  They should be more worried about skyrocketing property taxes, funds that school districts waste and the problems at DYFS.

As far as Camden goes, I am "lucky" enough to live in the same county.  They have done a pretty good job improving the waterfront (Aquarium, Tweeter Center, Rivershark Stadium), but, going 1-2 blocks away from the waterfront, you are taking you life in your hands. 

I think the law is probably talking about smoking WHILE YOU ARE DRIVING.  I doubt if people really care about if you smoke while you are parked.  How you operate a car on a public street is not necessarily a stupid issue.

I'm totally in favor of them banning smoking, WHILE YOU ARE DRIVING.  Add to that list:

Talking on a cellphone (handsfree or not)
Eating
Drinking (alcohol or non-alcoholic beverages)
Applying makeup
Hitting your kid in the backseat

Anything else that takes you attention away from the road, and reduces your ability to react. 

I hope they're also booking people who flick their smoke butts out the window. If it was up to me, I wouldn't concern myself with banning individual things like phone usage, smoking, eating etc. behind the wheel. Just make it illegal to drive with only one hand on the steering wheel. Then you wouldn't be able to do anything else except drive your car.


:)

I'm totally in favor of them banning smoking, WHILE YOU ARE DRIVING.  Add to that list:

Talking on a cellphone (handsfree or not)
Eating
Drinking (alcohol or non-alcoholic beverages)
Applying makeup
Hitting your kid in the backseat

Anything else that takes you attention away from the road, and reduces your ability to react. 

But do you really want the legislature deciding for you what you are and are not coordinated enough to do?  I would would rather have the police fighting crime than fining me for eating a Snickers bar behind the wheel!
I was against the cell phone prohibition because I don't believe the government should micromanage citizen behavior.  It's disturbing that any state legislature finds the time to worry about such BS with all the pressing issues out there!

I hope they're also booking people who flick their smoke butts out the window. If it was up to me, I wouldn't concern myself with banning individual things like phone usage, smoking, eating etc. behind the wheel. Just make it illegal to drive with only one hand on the steering wheel. Then you wouldn't be able to do anything else except drive your car.


:)

Flicking butts out the window is not only littering, but it's also a fire hazard.  I have no problem with fining motorists for it.  If you want to require motorists to drive with both hands on the wheel, you have to ban stick shifts...and scratching your nose!  Sounds like a dubious proposition to me!

But do you really want the legislature deciding for you what you are and are not coordinated enough to do?  I would would rather have the police fighting crime than fining me for eating a Snickers bar behind the wheel!
I was against the cell phone prohibition because I don't believe the government should micromanage citizen behavior.  It's disturbing that any state legislature finds the time to worry about such BS with all the pressing issues out there!


Well, I'm all for policing the use of cell phones while driving. Controlling a motor vehicle requires concentration 100% of the time. There's no time for dialling phone numbers or diving through your belongings to answer a ringing phone. There's a growing and alarming trend in vehicle accidents here that are being caused by people texting while driving. Are you saying that shouldn't be illegal? People can't even be trusted to switch off their phones in the cinema. The only way they will put them down in their car is to get a ticket for it.

Flicking butts out the window is not only littering, but it's also a fire hazard.  I have no problem with fining motorists for it.  If you want to require motorists to drive with both hands on the wheel, you have to ban stick shifts...and scratching your nose!  Sounds like a dubious proposition to me!


I was being facetious. Besides which I conside "driving with both hands" to include gear-changing. I've been in cars with people who juggle shifting gears with holding on to their drink can, used their knees to steer while they've lit cigarettes and let go of the wheel altogether to change a CD. Drivers need to be aware that driving a car isn't the same as sitting in your living room.

I was being facetious. Besides which I conside "driving with both hands" to include gear-changing. I've been in cars with people who juggle shifting gears with holding on to their drink can, used their knees to steer while they've lit cigarettes and let go of the wheel altogether to change a CD. Drivers need to be aware that driving a car isn't the same as sitting in your living room.

I've been there!  Make that a can of beer and a joint!
:o

But do you really want the legislature deciding for you what you are and are not coordinated enough to do?  I would would rather have the police fighting crime than fining me for eating a Snickers bar behind the wheel!
I was against the cell phone prohibition because I don't believe the government should micromanage citizen behavior.  It's disturbing that any state legislature finds the time to worry about such BS with all the pressing issues out there!


The problem is that most people think they can "handle it".  Most people who drive drunk think the same way.  Ever wonder why German cars only have cup holders for the American market?

Ever wonder why German cars only have cup holders for the American market?


Because the state of Mississippi still allows drinking (alcohol) while driving?

Because the state of Mississippi still allows drinking (alcohol) while driving?


Remind me to never drive through that state on the weekend... common sense surrenders.

German cars do not have cup holders (or least didn't until recent years) because the Germans understood that you needed to be focused 100% on the road in front of you.  Their laws are far more strict about lane changes, who's at fault in an accident, etc.  We imported their autobahn idea for our interstates, but none of the safety requirements that make it a safe road.

Remind me to never drive through that state on the weekend... common sense surrenders.

German cars do not have cup holders (or least didn't until recent years) because the Germans understood that you needed to be focused 100% on the road in front of you.  Their laws are far more strict about lane changes, who's at fault in an accident, etc.  We imported their autobahn idea for our interstates, but none of the safety requirements that make it a safe road.

The Autobahn also has a much thicker, tougher surface than American highways, and it is vigilently maintained.  America has way too much roadway and far to little will to pay the kind of money it would take to make our highways--even just the interstates--as safe as the Autobahn. 

If you asked me which state allows drinking alcohol while driving, I would guess Louisiana.  Mississippi is a close second!

I'm totally in favor of them banning smoking, WHILE YOU ARE DRIVING. Add to that list:

Talking on a cellphone (handsfree or not)
Eating
Drinking (alcohol or non-alcoholic beverages)
Applying makeup
Hitting your kid in the backseat

Anything else that takes you attention away from the road, and reduces your ability to react.


Including certain things other people can do to you you while you are driving if you know what I mean!

Because the state of Mississippi still allows drinking (alcohol) while driving?


WTF? Isn't it illegal everywhere in the States, or is it every state for themselves?

I'm totally in favor of them banning smoking, WHILE YOU ARE DRIVING. Add to that list:

Talking on a cellphone (handsfree or not)
Eating
Drinking (alcohol or non-alcoholic beverages)
Applying makeup
Hitting your kid in the backseat

Anything else that takes you attention away from the road, and reduces your ability to react.
What about someone with diabetes who has to get some food into them FAST because they start to have an insulin reaction...and they can't pull over coz of gridlock,which can happen sometimes when the traffic's bad? Diabetics have to do that sometimes to prevent an insulin reaction and stay safe on the road.

What about someone with diabetes who has to get some food into them FAST because they start to have an insulin reaction...and they can't pull over coz of gridlock,which can happen sometimes when the traffic's bad? Diabetics have to do that sometimes to prevent an insulin reaction and stay safe on the road.


There are always exceptions in the case of people with medical conditions. The point is to prevent people doing necessary things while driving because it's dangerous for them and others.

Remind me to never drive through that state (Mississippi) on the weekend... common sense surrenders.


Well, I'm reminding you never to drive though that state at all. It's an awful, depressing place. Passed through there last sumer on my way to FL.

As for the NJ guy, we were on the interstate toward New York until Jersey City (gag!). The whole way I saw nothing but industrial waste, though admittedly I slept through the early parts, which were in the south. When I saw Jersey City, I wanted to renounce US Citizenship it was so ugly. (I exagurate, but still).

WTF? Isn't it illegal everywhere in the States, or is it every state for themselves?


Every state can pass their own laws.

In some states fireworks are legal, in some they aren't.  In some states, any 18 year-old non-felon can carry a gun, in others you have to be 21 with a permit.  That's why I love this country, if a state passes a bad law, there are 49 others to run away to.

Well, I'm reminding you never to drive though that state at all. It's an awful, depressing place. Passed through there last sumer on my way to FL.


What are you talking about?  Mississippi is a beautiful state.

What are you talking about?  Mississippi is a beautiful state.

The beautiful and the miserable are everywhere intertwined.

Well, I'm reminding you never to drive though that state at all. It's an awful, depressing place. Passed through there last sumer on my way to FL.

As for the NJ guy, we were on the interstate toward New York until Jersey City (gag!). The whole way I saw nothing but industrial waste, though admittedly I slept through the early parts, which were in the south. When I saw Jersey City, I wanted to renounce US Citizenship it was so ugly. (I exagurate, but still).
Next time go up the Garden State Parkway. Nicer view,nicer rest stops,no deprived of sleep tractor trailer drivers...and you get to see the Pine Barrens. The Parkway is in some places beautiful in the fall with the leaves changing.

Well excuuuse those of us that have to live in the parts of town that other people think are ugly and think are an embarresment to there state and there country.  Talk about class warfare.  Such snobbishness!  Geez!

Don't you just love egalatarian societies?

:)

Well excuuuse those of us that have to live in the parts of town that other people think are ugly and think are an embarresment to there state and there country. Talk about class warfare. Such snobbishness! Geez!
I'm not trying to be a snob...I'm just sick and tired of people putting down NJ....Every state has its good,bad, and downright ugly. I have been to Camden...and it absolutely gives me the creeps. I have been in the Camden bus station a few times waiting to change buses...I saw a couple of fistfights that got really ugly...in one a knife was flashed. Good thing transit police were around because the perp was threatening to slit the other guy's throat...
Camden is truly BAD. There and Newark. Not everyone who lives in those areas is a criminal,but yes they live in fear and are very wary of anyone...

Well excuuuse those of us that have to live in the parts of town that other people think are ugly and think are an embarresment to there state and there country. Talk about class warfare. Such snobbishness! Geez!
I also know many people live in those places because they cannot live anywhere else. It's expensive to live in some parts of the Garden State...the Downbeach area(Ventnor, Margate, Longport)is an example of this. Homes in those towns run from $200,000 for a basic house(bungalow or rancher)...all the way to million-dollar beachfront mansions with every amenity known to mankind..I live in a townhome in Absecon,which also has expensive homes as well as starter homes and fixer-ups. I can afford my rent because my roommate and I both recieve rental assistance(Section 8  )...and my consumer-run agency has a handyman who fixes whatever problems he can. I know what it is to live in a rough neighborhood. I lived in Atlantic City's Inlet section in 1985 when it was a friggin' drug mall...

Well excuuuse those of us that have to live in the parts of town that other people think are ugly and think are an embarresment to there state and there country.  Talk about class warfare.  Such snobbishness!  Geez!

I wasn't talking about residential areas, as we talking about industrial corridors. 

I agree with what you're saying.  Our local bigot talk show host, Howie Carr, runs a frequent call-in topic, "What's the worst town in Massachusetts?"  Invetibly his listeners call in and bash cities such as Lawrence, Holyoke, New Bedford, and Lynn.  Bill O'Reilly has often blamed the so-called ghettos on their residents.  I think it's important to distinguish between the residents and the economic situation with which the residents are faced. 

Don't you just love egalatarian societies?

:)

I sure know who doesn't!
::)

The beautiful and the miserable are everywhere intertwined.


Exactly why is the state miserable?

Well I didn't see anybody being negative about drug dealers and criminals, they were being negative about neighborhoods where people live.  You don't like people to look down on your whole state, so you make sure you tell them to just look down on the places people have to live when they cant afford anywhere else.  Its nice to get government help to live in a 'nice' neighborhood and make fun of those 'crappy' places other people HAVE to live.  I hope if I live in a bad neighborhood, and then get something nicer, I won't turn around and be so quick to look down on those places.

As silly as it sounds on the surface, it may not be a bad idea, remember it only pertains to the OPERATOR of the vehicle, not passengers....the driver probably should be paying attention to the road not puffing away on a smoke. THe time they have to take their eyes off the road to light up etc could be deadly.

As silly as it sounds on the surface, it may not be a bad idea, remember it only pertains to the OPERATOR of the vehicle, not passengers....the driver probably should be paying attention to the road not puffing away on a smoke. THe time they have to take their eyes off the road to light up etc could be deadly.
But imagine the possible ROAD RAGE incidents that could happen when smokers have a nicotine fit...and there are no nearby rest stops or places to pull off the road...especially when two nicotine-crazed people have a fenderbender!

If someone nneeds nicotine that badly isn't there gum with nicotine in it?

If someone nneeds nicotine that badly isn't there gum with nicotine in it?
You still have to take the gum out of the package! Which is another thing New Jersey's lawmakers might try and ban!

They'll have to outlaw drive-thru windows.  If it's too dangerous to talk on the phone or smoke while you drive, then Big Macs and fries behind the wheel are RIGHT OUT!
::)

And changing the station on your car radio...which means if your fave station switches from something you like to some horrendous Conservative talk show such as Rush Limbaugh or Michael Savage....guess what..you're STUCK with it!!!
LOLOLOLOL!