Do not throw cigarette butts out of the car window!
This should be obvious to everyone: Cigarette butts should not be thrown out of the window! The butts are not only an avoidable safety risk – carelessly flicked away cigarettes are treated as a misdemeanor or may even constitute a criminal offense ..
Not only uncool, but simply inconsiderate
This may have been a casual image in the 80s, but it was already a rather rash action back then: flicking the cigarette out of the car. But just like the hairstyle fashion in the form of a well-groomed "mullet", such habits should long be a thing of the past. The resulting dangerous situations are manifold and range in their effects from a misdemeanor to a felony.
Danger to the environment and road traffic
Also the environment is damaged, because it is not only the one cigarette butt that flies out of the window. If one considers the behavior times country widely, tons of thrown away cigarette butts come together there daily. In the long term, this can even endanger the quality of the groundwater. According to the Bund fur Umwelt und Naturschutz Deutschland e.V. cigarette butts contain toxins such as nicotine, dioxin, formaldehyde and cadmium. Every time it rains, one cigarette butt contaminates about 40 liters of groundwater. Also one should not, as some resolute environment sinners it again and again to make, at the traffic light its ashtray at the roadside to dispose of. Here, fines of between 20 and 50 euros for environmental pollution are justifiably threatened.
But not only the environment is affected, other road users and even pedestrians and children are put in danger by careless behavior. And so the penalties also range, according to the Automobile Club of Germany (AvD), from a fine of up to 50 euros to imprisonment. Indicative of the effects of imprudent action is z.B. the fire of a car, where experts were able to prove that a thrown out cigarette was the trigger. In this case, the cigarette butt got through the radiator grille onto the hood pan and set the felt layer on fire.
Absolute fire hazard in summer
Especially in the hot summer months, many fires are started by flicked cigarette butts. The butts land on dry grass, ignite the adjacent bushes and trees and can thus trigger a forest fire. In such a case, it is no longer just a case of carelessness, the culprit is even threatened with imprisonment.
Danger to road users
If the discarded cigarette irritates a following road user in such a way that it results in a fatal accident, the driver faces a prison sentence for involuntary manslaughter – or at least for negligent endangerment of road traffic. Especially for motorcyclists, a glowing cigarette butt can get into the helmet or clothing, which leads directly to life-threatening reactions.
But smokers can also endanger themselves by allowing the burning cigarette to fall, forcing the driver to take dangerous immediate action to prevent burns, injuries or fire in the car. If an accident results from such an action, the smoking driver not only risks life and health. According to the AvD, in addition to a fine, the driver also risks losing his insurance coverage, because the insurance company can reclaim the money for replaced damages from the person who caused the accident.
Conclusion
You wouldn't do that in your own home either: Just flick the burning butt at your spouse's feet and wait for the carpet to start smoking… Throwing out cigarette butts is, to say the least, a reckless act that can endanger lives. For cigarette butts there are ashtrays and it is available in most cars.
By the way… you can find a garage that you can trust with your car in our garage search
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