Blogging from the Highlands of Scotland
'From fanaticism to barbarism is only one step' - Diderot

Friday 3 February 2006

"Smoking ban to affect white van man" in Scotland

- yes, you read that correctly! It seems that when the ban on smoking in public places becomes law in Scotland on 26th March the ban will apply also to van and lorry drivers (even if they are alone in the vehicle) because such vehicles are regarded as 'business premises' and as such are covered by the scope of the law. So, when a lorry driver crosses the 'border' from England into Scotland after 26th March he will have to extinguish any cigarettes. The ban, amazingly, will also apply to overnight stops, when many drivers sleep in the cabs of their lorries.

Oh, and by the way, did I mention it also applies to farmers driving their tractors? Or that if a room in the farmhouse is used as an office it will be covered, too?

It seems that private cars remain exempt, but I am just waiting for the first case to be brought by a businessman being driven by his smoking chauffeur, or indeed a chauffeur taking his smoking boss to court when driving him around on official business.

Our beloved Scottish Executive and our even more beloved Scottish Parliament have paassed some crazy legislation before, but this really sets a new standard, in my opinion, for idiocy! I am not a smoker and have never been a smoker, but I just cannot understand why such a crazy thing is being done. Can anyone explain it to me? Who is going to enforce this ban in these conditions? Imagine it, inspectors hiding behind bollards at the side of the A74 watching lorry drivers speeding north to Glasgow ... the mind boggles!

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