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That may be because it's an apocryphal legend.

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I once saw a cyclist happily going along no-handed while making a roll-up -- ten out of ten for cool, but minus several million for road safety.

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I think the smoking thing has more to do with lighting up than the actual smoking... especially with those child-proof lighters.

What strikes me as odd is that it seems as if the people talking about the dangers of driving and smoking seem to not be current or former smokers....

Any smoker I know (including myself until I quit) can light their cigarette without looking. This includes using a childproof lighter.

What people seem to be forgetting is that smoking becomes almost a reflex. You don't need to pay attention to it to do it successfully. Which is also one of it's nastiest little tricks.

Unless I am misreading this and the people commenting are current or former smokers who are implying "Well, when I smoked, it was dangerous while driving because...", I think their explanations of the dangers involved are about as accurate as if I were to explain why getting your period would make you crash your car.

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What people seem to be forgetting is that smoking becomes almost a reflex. You don't need to pay attention to it to do it successfully. Which is also one of it's nastiest little tricks.

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Congratulations, by the way!

Thanks, Jim! I really appreciate that. I didn't think I would, but I really do feeal a ton better since quitting.

Which is cool, because I didn't think I felt un-good when I was smoking.



BTW, after re-reading your post, I take it you quit as well?

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I lump all 14000 + mp3's in one huge diectory so I can have the pleasure of endless butto pushing while I drive down the road at 85+

<dreamy nostalgia>
I should put all my music in one huge directory. I miss the carefree days of youth, the endless butto pushing.....
</dreamy nostalgia>

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BTW, after re-reading your post, I take it you quit as well?

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Which is cool, because I didn't think I felt un-good when I was smoking.

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Finally around the 4 month mark the nightmares stopped

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He wadded up his cigarettes, tossed them in the trash, and never smoked again.

Good for your friend! Actually, that's pretty much how I ended up quitting; my girlfriend and I decided that it was time, and we set a date of Oct. 26th (of last year). Both of us had tried quitting a number of times before, but turned INSANE after just a few minutes.

Somehow, though, this time it was easy. And I had even gotten myself worked up for a good fight against it! But I honestly haven't had much of a craving since I finished my last cigarette last October.

We both actually signed up for the Colorado QuitNet , but I've never really done anything on it. Not to seem rude, but the people on it seem really kinda sorry, and don't appear to have done anything but trade one addiction for another. But at least they aren't gonna get lung cancer, ya? On the other hand, it DOES keep track of some stats for you, based on what you told it about your smoking habits.... Pretty scary:


Your Quit Date is: 10/26/2003
Time Smoke-Free: 292 days, 6 hours, 38 minutes and 22 seconds
Cigarettes NOT smoked: 7307
Lifetime Saved: 1 month, 25 days, 19 hours
Money Saved: $1,277.50


Almost enough for two roundtrip tix to Tokyo! Woo! I'm gonna have to treat myself come spring!

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What strikes me as odd is that it seems as if the people talking about the dangers of driving and smoking seem to not be current or former smokers....

OK, I'm a former smoker who will talk about the dangers of smoking while driving One think to note is that I didn't smoke while driving (didn't allow it in my car), but I am a former smoker

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What people seem to be forgetting is that smoking becomes almost a reflex. You don't need to pay attention to it to do it successfully. Which is also one of it's nastiest little tricks.

One of my friends was a smoker, and training to be a pilot. He would smoke while driving, but was so uncoordinated that he held the cigarette in his right hand. Every time he went to ash out the window, the whole car would swerve 1/2 a lane to the left. On a side note, he was actively scanning the dashboard as practice for his instrument rating. Every time he did (about once every 45secs or so), he would hit his brakes...

Of course, another friend of mine drove a standard, and it had a crushed subframe. When he engaged the clutch or disengaged the clutch, the car would try to leap one way or the other. He could drive that car without missing a beat while smoking, and the passenger wouldn't even feel it. He would just do some crazy countersteering like it was second nature... getting him in a normal car was scary as hell though. He'd try to counteract something that wasn't there and go leaping off into another lane anyway

The point of this rambling post is that smoking can be dangerous, depending on the driver. Then again, there are people out there who don't need any distractions while driving, they create their own.

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Light up a cigarette and set it on a pair of jeans or a car seat. You'll notice a distinct lack of leaping flames. It smoulders. On the FEW occasions I ever dropped a cigarete while driving, I simply pulled off the road and recovered calmly. I think the worst damage ever done was a tiny burn on a fave pair of jeans.

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Solution? Plantir + palm + passenger = playlists! I have to get that running before my road trip... next year.

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One of my friends was a smoker, and training to be a pilot. He would smoke while driving, but was so uncoordinated that he held the cigarette in his right hand. Every time he went to ash out the window, the whole car would swerve 1/2 a lane to the left.

My take on this is that he was probably right-handed and he was simply driving a LHD car, with his cigarette in his left hand (awkward).

Perhaps all right-handed smokers should be made to drive RHD cars?

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Although I have to get her to stop inserting Barbara Striesand in between Led Zeppelin and Urge Overkill...

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Although I have to get her to stop inserting Barbara Striesand in between Led Zeppelin and Urge Overkill...

You need a steering wheel remote using ir_translate so that one of the buttons becomes equivalent to a long pressed "2", ie "Hate Artist"!

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On a side note, he was actively scanning the dashboard as practice for his instrument rating. Every time he did (about once every 45secs or so), he would hit his brakes...

I, personally, would say this is perfect eveidence that smoking had nothing to do with your friend's inability to successfully drive a car. And I think I'd decline if I were offered a ride in his plane.

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I condone smoking in the car, as long as you have an open beer to put it out with in case you drop it.

But I don't need an open beer, because "I'm the DUDE."