Fined for smoking at the wheel

Motorists who smoke beware!

Think twice before lighting up when taking the wheel of a car - at least here in France.

Because if the police catch you with a ciggie in your mouth, you might just end up facing a fine.

Well at least it could happen if the case of Yoni Bismuth is anything to go by.

The 28-year-old Parisian locksmith enjoys the more-than-occasional puff even when on the road, and that's exactly what he was doing when police stopped him last weekend for having run a red light.

He was of course handed down a fine for his first offence, but then to his surprise - and shock - he received another one for smoking.

"I asked the policeman not to fine me, telling him that now that I knew it was an offence I wouldn't do it again," he said.

"But all he said is 'I'm not listening, a fine is a fine'."

And it was indeed - €22 worth, although Bismuth didn't lose any points.

Well that's one side of the story but of course, as is typical in such cases, the forces of law and order have a slightly different tale to tell as to the version of events.

First of all there was the contravention of having run a red light at an intersection while driving in a bus lane, according to Frédéric Cheyre of the police precinct in the capital's 19th arrondissement, and then there was that issue with the cigarette.

"What the officer on duty saw at the same time as the driver not stopping at the traffic lights was that he had a cigarette in one hand and a lighter in the other," he said.

So did that make him incapable of driving? And more importantly did the act of smoking (or even the intention to) constitute an offence under the law?

Well the highway code in France is a bit fuzzy on the issue, unlike that of using a mobile 'phone while driving, which has been an offence since 2003.

And as far as Jean-Baptiste Iosca, a lawyer specialising in road traffic offences, is concerned, the police overstepped the mark.

"It's strictly stupid, illegal and above all abusive," he said.

"And something absolutely must be done about it."

Bismuth intends to contest the fine, just as a nurse successfully did in the Gironde department of southwestern France in January this year.

"I don't find it normal," he said.

"Even with a cigarette in the hand, you can drive without any problem. Millions of people do it every day," he added.

"Today I've had a fine for smoking, next time perhaps it'll be because I haven't shaved properly."

Anyone got a light?