New smoking law and company vehicles

[Rich44]

Right I drive a company van (plain white astra van) it's mine no one else drives it ever and I dont ever have passengers (well not yet anyway).

 

Apparently because of the new legislation I have to stick a sign up on the windscreen that this is a no smoking vehicle etc etc. Now I dont smoke anyway but I dont want to stick a sticker on my windscreen taking up more valuable screen space, I have a hard enough time seeing as it is because its a van and no one else makes allowances for you when trying to get out of spaces.

 

So is the employer right? I have to stick another sticker to the window saying smoke free, seems crazy to me I already have to have Tax disc and breakdown thingy on there.

 

They're also trying to tell the people that use their own cars and take the lease vehicles (which we have to contribute to about £100 per month) that you cant smoke whilst at work ie driving between sites seems stupid trying to tell people they cant smoke in their own cars

 

PS This is a local authority employer

[buzby]

I believe the requirement is under Health & Safety rules which the employer must abide by. I'm not sure id a similar complaint about sticking the tax disc on the windscreen would be any more relevant. It can be placed anywhere it can be seen by the driver/passenger. Incidentally, the police won't arrest you if you've a cigarette in hand, but if stopped at traffic lights or parked, you might get done by Trading Standards.

[Rich44]

The tax disc is tiny and in bottom left of the screen (on most peoples cars) by necessity the sign for no smoking is bigger and obviously has to go above tax disc/recovery info there's nowhere else for it, maybe I can get away with sticking it to the rear windscreen lol.

 

By necessity the sign is bigger than a tax disc because it has to have certain writing on it hence the concern.

 

I might ditch it and go back to using my car and claim mileage instead, mind you the next thing they'll expect signs in your car too, ffs.

 

I dont smoke anyway so there wont be any chance of them "doing me" hehehe

[buzby]

Under the Scottish rules, the size of the sign wasn't mandated - but using your own car and claiming mileage seems a pretty drastic alternative cos you don't like a sticker! Do what everyone else does.... swear blind it was there yesterday....

[Rich44]

No it wouldnt be the only reason just the final straw kinda thing, the other thing was changing the excess from £50 to £500

 

Besides 40p per mile I could make a nice little tidy sum

 

I guess I could try getting away with sticking it to the dash under where the tax disc lives too.

 

Thanks for the replies, theyre providing the signs and said they are the ones they want used to make sure theyre covered.

 

I think its funny that people that are using lease vehicles and paying and people using their own cars get penalised too, I hate smoking and cant wait till 1st July but some of these rules are just getting a bit silly

[artoo]

If you and only ever you use the vehicle then it does not need to have a sign. But most large employers will insist all vehicles have the signs displayed. It’s hardly the end of the world though is it?

[Rich44]

No its not the end of the world (although it could be if you had an accident because of the sign concerned - joke!) but thats not the point the signs they want to use are largish and I dont want anymore of the screen taken up by anything especially as visibility is already really really poor because of having no rear windows to look out of.

 

I'll just lob it on the dash with some blu-tak and see if that shuts em up instead of fixing to the glass - compromise.

 

Irks me as well as I dont smoke anyway

[artoo]

as you dont legaly have to display it at all you could keep it in the glovebox unless it was going to be seen by your employers.

[patdavies]

How big is this sign?

 

The police might take an interest in the roadworthiness of the vehicle if it covered part of the swept area of the windscreen.

[borisbeaver]

Having been a fleet manager for Network Rail, one of my jobs was to put the no-smoking stickers in the vehicles.

 

The stickers were attached to the dashboard - anywhere there was space. There is no legal size definition.

 

It still didn't stop staff smoking in the vehicles though.

[JOSH_IOU]

They should have an automatic fist that comes down from the roof of the car.

 

But only when it detects cigarette smoke. Could be adapted for a mobile tune to.