Thursday, February 6, 2014

Easier to ban children

There is a bit of a political furore over a plan to ban people from smoking in cars with children in them.The problem with this sort of law, like the speeding laws, the mobile phone ban, even the seatbelt laws is that they are basically unenforceable. People will often ignore laws that they do not think are relevant, useful or fair quite routinely, yes a few get caught, but that doesn't stop the basic ignoring of laws that bansturbators have put up no matter how hard they try to promote them.
Mail.
Two more Cabinet ministers have raised doubts about plans to ban smoking in cars carrying children.
MailOnline has learned Business Secretary Vince Cable is to vote against the new laws while Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith is understood to have concerns about how the ban would be enforced.
Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt says there is a compelling case for outlawing smoking when youngsters are in a vehicle ahead of a planned free vote, but he faces growing opposition from senior Tory and Lib Dem ministers.
One of the things taught in military schools and pounded into officers both commissioned and non-commissioned  is that you never give an order you know will be disobeyed. It's something that do gooders and government ministers ought to take on board when planning intrusive legislation. Even the case made about fumes in cars seems a little exaggerated due to most modern cars having air-con and filtration in their venting systems, indeed diesel fumes are a far higher risk of cancers than cigarette smoke.
What will happen if this law is passed will be the usual mass disobedience by those who simply don't give a damn what the government want and will take a chance (a pretty good one) on not getting caught.
It would actually be easier for the state to ban children from cars than enforce this law but as with a lot of things, this is probably only the thin edge of the wedge and if it becomes legislation then it will no doubt be expanded to homes, fizzy drinks, fatty foods and whatever the cause de jour of the do gooding bansturbators are fretting about this week.
Oh I'm sure there are some out there perfectly prepared to rat out friends, family and strangers due to their own inbuilt intolerance, but I bet you that this ban will be mostly ineffective as there won't be enough people around to actually enforce it and speed cameras will not work with this one...

4 annotations:

Longrider said...

I don't smoke. However, as the driver, I would be responsible for enforcing the ban. This is particularly egregious. And I have no intention of enforcing the ban as I disagree with it - my vehicle being private property and what goes on therein being none of the state's business. I will not pay any fines either.

Kath Lissenden said...

As I pointed out over at Dickp's the other day this is a nonsense not least because it is unenforceable but also because unless the same morons are prepared to ban all traffic from the roads it is a pointless exercise, children are at far greater risk from the inhalation of diesel particles than they are from second hand smoke.
Recent studies in Sheffield being a case in point.

Quiet_Man said...

The greens ultimate aim is to ban all traffic, air and ground unless its muscle powered. Except for those high up in the organisation of course, they need to travel to keep on top of things.

Kath Lissenden said...

Of course traffic pollution is low down the "health fascist" agenda because smoking is an easier target.
These idiots know they will never get the British public to agree to the removal of all private transport, because there would most likely be a revolution and these idiots will all be hung drawn and quartered.
The green idiots have other agendas and would happily ban cars, but I don't see that happening. Hence the turn to attacking other personal freedoms.