I know Fairfax takes littering seriously and I have seen people get jail time for it. I was curious if Fairfax gives littering citations for throwing cigarettes out of cars...thanks.

A freind of mine way back told me he was pulled over for it, so yeah I guess they do.

They should. If you throw cigarettes out of your car window... Congrats, you are trash.

They should. It is littering for sure...

Once in the summer, it hadn't rained for weeks then it poured. I was sitting at a stop light (RT 50) and this river of skank-ass cig butts came washing by me. So disgusting and shameful.

Please, smoke if you have to, but cleanup after yourself. Have more respect for our planet than you do your body.

Yeah, it's always a good idea to toss a smoldering cigarette out of the window, especially when it's dry outside. Never can have too many brush fires.

Butts are made of cotton and are totally biodegradable. Rather quickly too. If they weren't,imagine how many would be laying around. That said, I'm surE it's as illegal as tossing a nakin or something else biodegradable.

Re: Throwing cigarettes out of car = littering? new
Posted by: Bounce House ()
Date: August 03, 2009 09:58PM


Butts are made of cotton and are totally biodegradable. Rather quickly too. If they weren't,imagine how many would be laying around. That said, I'm surE it's as illegal as tossing a nakin or something else biodegradable.


I get sick and tired of people throwing nakins out the window

---------------------------------------------------
W.W.S.D. what would Scooby Doo

1. Filters:
Cigarette filters are specifically designed to absorb vapors and to accumulate particulate smoke components. Filters also prevent tobacco from entering a smoker's mouth and provide a mouthpiece that will not collapse as the cigarette is smoked. Filters generally have the following components:

A "plug" of acetate cellulose filter tow
95% of cigarette filters are made of cellulose acetate (a plastic), and the balance are made from papers and rayon. The cellulose acetate tow fibers are thinner than sewing thread, white, and packed tightly together to create a filter; they can look like cotton. Other materials have been tried and rejected in favor of the taste that acetate produces. Filters vary in filtration efficiency, depending on whether the cigarette is to be "light" or regular.

How many fibers are in a cigarette filter?
The following is quoted from a research paper by researchers from the New York State Department of Health, the Roswell Park Cancer Institute, and Cornell University. Click here for full article.

"Viewing the white face of the cigarette filter with the naked eye and compression of the filter column with the fingers would suggest that the filter is made of a sponge-like material. However, opening the cigarette filter, by cutting it lengthwise with a razor, reveals that it consists of a fibrous mass. Spreading apart the matrix reveals some of the more than 12 000 white fibers. Microscopically, these fibers are Y shaped and contain the delustrant titanium dioxide. The fibers are made of cellulose acetate, a synthetic plastic-like substance used commonly for photographic films. A plasticiser, triacetin (glycerol triacetate), is applied to bond the fibers."



An inner paper wrapper (plug wrap) and glue
The paper used to wrap the acetate cellulose plug is impervious to air for regular cigarettes, or is ventilated and very porous in "light" cigarettes, allowing more air to enter the smoke mix. A polyvinyl acetate emulsion is used as the glue to attach the plug to the wrapper, and to seam the wrapper.

http://www.longwood.edu/cleanva/cigbuttfilters.htm

Cough Cough Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Other materials have been tried and
> rejected in favor of the taste that acetate
> produces.

mmmm. I just love the taste of superheated acetate as I inhale it.

I'm not sure why this would be up for debate.

Is shitting on the sidewalk ok?

I'm a smoker, but I don't know how there could be some sort of exception for cigarette butts. If there's no ashtray available, you flick the cherry off the butt and then put it in a garbage can (being sure that no spark remains)

On a side note, how stupid do you have to be to put straw wrappers, balled up napkins and other flammable things (or anything besides ASHES and CIGARETTE BUTTS) in a fucking ashtray?

it is not only illegal it is just wrong. i saw on COPS once a guy threw a cigarette out of his window and the cop charged him with littering and throwing a lit substance out of a moving vehicle. so before you throw your cigarette out the window ask yourself, what would jesus do? !

Of course it's litter. It's trash pure and simple. Most smokers are inconsiderate about this and leave their butts on the beach, parks, roadsides, sidewalks, public lawns, etc. The only place I've been without butts scattered about is Singapore. I wish we took tossing trash out the window half as serious as they do over there.

Just the filthy end of a filthy habit, please keep your windows rolled when smoking, you are paying for nicotine and other carcinagens, please get all your moneys worth.

yeah and since you pay for gas too you should tape a hose from your muffler to your window and seal it well while you drive around. since you paid good money for it why just burn it and let it go to waste?

I laugh a little when I see smokers throw their butts out of the window. They more than likely have pre-cancerous lesions on their black lungs, if not cancer already. People have died from lung cancer in the 20's. If that's not enough, they probably have early symptoms of emphysema, which will cause them to suffocate. You ever hear a smoker laugh or cough? Yep, that's early emphysema. Not to mention the walls of their arteries are lining with plaque due to the effects of the nicotine.

Any way you look at it, they will all die pretty hard deaths.

Karma's a bitch, litterbugs.

HEY I've been smoking for 33 years and thrown thousands of cigarettes out of my car.

If you guys were smart enough to see how cool smoking is maybe you'd realize that it's only a crime if you get caught!

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Littering is illegal. Most people are unaware of littering fines. Section 33.3-346 of the Code of Virginia makes littering or dumping trash a Class 1 misdemeanor, punishable by up to 12 months in jail and/or a fine up to $2,500.

Section 10.1-1143 of the Forestry Code makes it unlawful to throw “any lighted smoking material” from a vehicle. This is a Class 2 misdemeanor violation, punishable by up to 6 months in jail and/or a fine up to $1,000. (With either the Class 1 or Class 2 offense, community service can take the place of jail time.)

Cigarette butts were reclassified as littering back in July of 2007 so now the fine is much more than what it used to be. Can't say you haven't been warned.

Being a critical care RN, I can tell you that lung cancer is the least of your problems as a smoker. In fact, I wouldn't even worry about it. It's the COPD, throat, kidney colon or bladder cancer that will hit you first. But hey - smoke up. It's job security for me. I just wish that I didn't have to see the butts everywhere.

Brutally Queer Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I laugh a little when I see smokers throw their
> butts out of the window. They more than likely
> have pre-cancerous lesions on their black lungs,
> if not cancer already. People have died from lung
> cancer in the 20's. If that's not enough, they
> probably have early symptoms of emphysema, which
> will cause them to suffocate. You ever hear a
> smoker laugh or cough? Yep, that's early
> emphysema. Not to mention the walls of their
> arteries are lining with plaque due to the effects
> of the nicotine.
>
> Any way you look at it, they will all die pretty
> hard deaths.
>
> Karma's a bitch, litterbugs.


and what about the smokers that do not litter? dharma is a bigger bitch!

?
Attachments:

JayBee Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Littering is illegal. Most people are unaware of
> littering fines. Section 33.3-346 of the Code of
> Virginia makes littering or dumping trash a Class
> 1 misdemeanor, punishable by up to 12 months in
> jail and/or a fine up to $2,500.
>
> Section 10.1-1143 of the Forestry Code makes it
> unlawful to throw “any lighted smoking material”
> from a vehicle. This is a Class 2 misdemeanor
> violation, punishable by up to 6 months in jail
> and/or a fine up to $1,000. (With either the Class
> 1 or Class 2 offense, community service can take
> the place of jail time.)
>
> Cigarette butts were reclassified as littering
> back in July of 2007 so now the fine is much more
> than what it used to be. Can't say you haven't
> been warned.

You get less of a fine for a lit cig? Thats stupid.

ffxstoner Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>
> You get less of a fine for a lit cig? Thats
> stupid.

I think the forestry law applies to lands controlled or administered by the forestry service.

Back here in the suburbs, littering is littering. They don't differentiate between various types of litter.

I think cops just don't make too much effort at writing tickets for throwing a cigarette butt out of a car window because way too many people do it, and besides, they rarely go after other types of littering, either.

what i dont quite understand how people going door to door putting flyers and shit on your door and people throwing plastic bags in your driveway with a business card and sand in them is not considered littering? so if you place your cigarette butt on the ground instead of throwing it thats not littering?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/05/2009 12:14AM by bloody blisters.

eesh Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I know Fairfax takes littering seriously and I
> have seen people get jail time for it. I was
> curious if Fairfax gives littering citations for
> throwing cigarettes out of cars...thanks.


I got pulled over for that when I was in high school...like 12 years ago.

Cop gave me a "warning".

bloody blisters Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> what i dont quite understand how people going door
> to door putting flyers and shit on your door and
> people throwing plastic bags in your driveway with
> a business card and sand in them is not considered
> littering? so if you place your cigarette butt on
> the ground instead of throwing it thats not
> littering?


I am absolutely sick and tired of all the crap left on my doorstep, stuck (illegally) in my mailbox, stuffed into the crack of my door, etc.

That is exactly what I've called it, for years. Fucking LITTER. Someone is paid to litter my front doorstep.

I've actually called the businesses in those fucking flyers and explained to them that they had created ill-will and that I would never purchase their product or service, and would specifically seek out anyone OTHER THAN THEM if I ever needed Yoga or gutter cleaning or financial planning services.

Instead of paying some immigrant $30 bucks for the day, just be a legit company and pay the fucking bulk mail postage, and employ the honest mailmen working for a postal service that is losing money. Maybe they wouldn't be losing money if your cheap ass business wasn't so fucking cheap!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/05/2009 01:55AM by Thurston Moore.

right there has got to be a law against that bullshit.

Ffx Stoner,
Read my post again, slower. I say at the end that throwing a cigarette is NOW classified as littering, so it is a much more harsh offense than the forestry code.

$2,500 fine/12 months in jail as opposed to a $1000 fine/6 months in jail maximum.

If you are a true stoner, you should have no problem naming the movie associated with this quote: "...guess what this sound is? ...it's my skull"

my friend got a $25 ticket for this a few years back
she was a back seat passenger, tosses a cig out the window
cop pulled them over and wrote her the ticket

Cigarette butts take a while to decompose, but they will decompose into the rest of the outdoors. But how about tossing out of your car something that would decompose faster, such as a banana peel or peanut shells (both of which I occasionally eat on my commute and would rather not litter the inside of my car with? Would that be littering?

I agree you should be fined for throwing cigarettes out of the car. I get tired of driving on 95 and getting cigarettes bouncing off my windshield from people in front of me.

The cellulose is made from cotton. Kodak doesn't like to brag but they make a ton by supplying it to Marlboro.

circus clown Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Cigarette butts take a while to decompose, but
> they will decompose into the rest of the outdoors.
> But how about tossing out of your car something
> that would decompose faster, such as a banana peel
> or peanut shells (both of which I occasionally eat
> on my commute and would rather not litter the
> inside of my car with? Would that be littering?


you should not throw anything out of a moving vehicle - give the popo a reason to pull you over -

and when they is other traffic on the road - you could be viewed as throwing something at other moving vehicles - which can be a felony - even if you are throwing a cotton ball - if you are pitching it into traffic - it's wrong

well I actually got pulled over today at the Walmart in Petersburg, VA. I was given a warning but told that if a brush fire started he would come looking for me. I really wanted to ask him, "Are you guys slow today?" I can understand why it's considered littering but I think there are too many other things that the police could be doing than to pull someone over for nothing other than throwing a cigarette out of a window on a city street I might add. This street has nothing but paved areas. I did buy an ashtray so I know better. However, if a brush fire does start I guess one thing the state trooper didn't think about was how could he prove that it was my cigarette butt that started the fire. No one would know that.

Erin Showns Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> well I actually got pulled over today at the
> Walmart in Petersburg, VA.


It was Petersburg, consider yourself lucky you weren't shot or mugged.

Blessed are the murderous.

I'm just here trying to get some info for an essay i'm writing and to you who thinks filters are biodegradable... they are however it takes up to 100 years for them to decompose!

Re: Throwing cigarettes out of car = littering? new
Posted by: Erin Showns ()
Date: August 22, 2009 02:17PM


well I actually got pulled over today at the Walmart in Petersburg, VA. I was given a warning but told that if a brush fire started he would come looking for me. I really wanted to ask him, "Are you guys slow today?" I can understand why it's considered littering but I think there are too many other things that the police could be doing than to pull someone over for nothing other than throwing a cigarette out of a window on a city street I might add. This street has nothing but paved areas. I did buy an ashtray so I know better. However, if a brush fire does start I guess one thing the state trooper didn't think about was how could he prove that it was my cigarette butt that started the fire. No one would know that.


boo fucking who

---------------------------------------------------
W.W.S.D. what would Scooby Doo

Yeah, I especially love receiving a smoldering cigarette splattering all over my windshield while doing 65 down the highway.

graymoose1 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Re: Throwing cigarettes out of car = littering?
> new
> Posted by: Erin Showns ()
> Date: August 22, 2009 02:17PM
>
>
> well I actually got pulled over today at the
> Walmart in Petersburg, VA. I was given a warning
> but told that if a brush fire started he would
> come looking for me. I really wanted to ask him,
> "Are you guys slow today?" I can understand why
> it's considered littering but I think there are
> too many other things that the police could be
> doing than to pull someone over for nothing other
> than throwing a cigarette out of a window on a
> city street I might add. This street has nothing
> but paved areas. I did buy an ashtray so I know
> better. However, if a brush fire does start I
> guess one thing the state trooper didn't think
> about was how could he prove that it was my
> cigarette butt that started the fire. No one would
> know that.
>
>
> boo fucking who


You from around Petersburg? The Walmart is out towards the country, and there is a lot of brush out there.

Erin Showns Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>but I think there are
> too many other things that the police could be
> doing

The absolute nerve of a law enforcement officer to do something like enforce a law upon someone like you! Who do those guys think they are, anyway?

Throwing butts out your car window is so classy.

]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/01/2012 12:35AM by Alias.

JayBee Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>
> If you are a true stoner, you should have no
> problem naming the movie associated with this
> quote: "...guess what this sound is? ...it's my
> skull"


Fast times at Ridgemont High. Spicoli said it, after hitting himself in the head with a shoe.

that's just too easy unless you are under 20 years old.

Alias Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

>
> So, this actually happens to you? I have wondered
> if a cigarette thrown from a car could end up
> flying into my car through an open window, but it
> has never happened.
>
> THIS did happen to me.
>
> I was 18 and driving a bunch of friends to Jones
> Beach. Some of them wanted to smoke pot. I made
> them wait until we were parked at Field 4 and
> asked the potheads to be careful passing their
> joint around my parents' new car.
>
> After a few hours of fun on the beach, we returned
> to the car, only to discover that there had been a
> fire in the car, the fire department had been
> called, the back seats were gone, the front
> seats were almost gone.....if you touched any
> chrome, it just fell away, etc.
>
> I first floated “spontaneous combustion” past my
> father, but when that didn't fly, I suggested the
> possibility of some rude smoker throwing his
> cigarette into one of the cracked windows.
>
> It was a scary day.


You have the most fascinating stories for every thread. How much of it is fiction?

Alias Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> ThePackLeader wrote:
> “Yeah, I especially love receiving a smoldering
> cigarette splattering all over my windshield while
> doing 65 down the highway.”
> __________________
>
> So, this actually happens to you? I have wondered
> if a cigarette thrown from a car could end up
> flying into my car through an open window, but it
> has never happened.
>

When I was in high school, I knew a kid who perfected a move where he could flick a cigarette butt out of the driver's window and have it land squarely in the middle of the windshield of the car behind him.

He reserved it only for people who tailgated him or were otherwise being dickheads.

He had to have a certain distance between him and the car behind him, and he arced his arm out the window and over the roof of the car a certain way before flicking his forefinger against his thumb. He explained it to me once, but I never tried to figure it out myself.

It was pretty funny to watch, though. A big bright red spray of sparks would flash over the windshield of the car behind us.

\



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/01/2012 12:24AM by Alias.

\



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/01/2012 12:23AM by Alias.

Alias Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>
>
> Did you grow up in day care?

No
>
> Are you an only child?

Yes
>
> Are your parents divorced?

No
>
>
> I grew up when kids were free.


Interpretation: You are the product of a six pack and one night stand.

Blessed are the murderous.

\



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/01/2012 12:22AM by Alias.

I concur with Alias....eesh, being the one who wanted to drive to Tangier Island.

Alias Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

> I grew up when kids were free.

They're still free, if you can get them in the van fast enough.
You do have to pay for the candy, of course.

---------------------------------
Who knows from whence he came, and who knows where he goes, dot dot dot.

FoolSmacker Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Alias Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
>
> > I grew up when kids were free.
>
> They're still free, if you can get them in the van
> fast enough.
> You do have to pay for the candy, of course.



Jolly Ranchers work best for the kiddies.

Blessed are the murderous.

I had a trashcan in my car for a roadtrip... when it was full, i just threw the whole trashcan out of the window...

does that = littering?

I like throwing my burnings cigs out the window...it looks like fireworks! WEEEEE!

I'm going to start throwing my cigarettes at guys in spandex riding bicycles.

--------------------------------------------------------------
13 4826 0948 82695 25847. Yes.

MrMephisto Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I'm going to start throwing my cigarettes at guys
> in spandex riding bicycles.


I'm gonna start flicking my cigarettes at guys riding bicycles on a single lane road when there is a bike path right next to it. But that's a completely different topic.

im a bigger fan of the honk and swerve at them gets your point across without destroying our planet. come on people think green!

.,



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/01/2012 01:04AM by Alias.

]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/01/2012 01:03AM by Alias.

Cigarrettes are leaves (tobacco) and paper (from trees). I once turned on my windshield wipers to get rid of a leaf that was stuck in it... It was a Maple leaf, not a tobacco leaf, however. During the Fall, I see a bunch of leaves blowing in the streets... I guess they ultimately go to the same place the tobacco leaves from my discarded cig butts go. Yes, I throw my cig butts out the car window,and I do not feel guilty. Admittedly, it is most likely (technically) littering, which is against the law. But sodomy is also (technically) illegal in the Commonwealth of Virginia,and I do not feel guilty when my wife gives me oral pleasure.... I once drove 1 MPH over the speed limit and did not feel guilty about speeding... Once, I parked for 16 minutes in a 15 minute loading zone in Alexandria and didn't feel guilty. I ripped the "do not remove" tag off of my mattress and did not feel guilty. DANG, seems if I break a lot of laws and never feel guilty. Oh well.

actually MAG the main problem with cigarette butts is the filter.....the filter is made of an inorganic fiber (READ: not natural, very slow to degrade). The filter is what remains and is nasty....

so unless you are super old school and roll your own without filters you are littering.

I guess you don't feel guilty cause you are a white trash asshole. The filters on the cancer sticks are all over the road and the side of the road.

BTW I don't feel guilty when your wife sucks my dick either

---------------------------------------------------
W.W.S.D. what would Scooby Doo

It's okay if the products used to make what ever you are throwing on the ground are natural(leaves, paper, nothing synthetic or man-made like plastic lids), and especially if it is biodegradable, in my mind it is better off here in nature than taking an extra 5000 years to biodegrade because it is at the bottom of a landfill.

Let's face it paper cups and napkins and yes ciggy butts for you smokers, can be collected u boff a highway and burned as a fuel source or recycled. You can also push them into a pile to make a compost heap.

Then we can have the prisoners go around on Sundays and collect the ripe compost to be used for the flower gardens and community crop projects they have at the jail.

Let's face it, in Fairfax all the cops want to do is sit in their car with a radar gun catching speeders. They aren't going to get out of their car to ticket someone for littering.

When I was in High School, a friend was driving us in his car down 95 and a car was tailgating him. This friend was kind enough to use the ashtray rather than toss the butts out the window, but on this occasion, he slid the ashtray out and pushed it out his windows, allowing the many dozens of butts to fly free and pepper the car behind us. It was an older Buick with the faux chrome grill. I turned and saw the driver back off as his grill was littered with butts and his windshield was smacked.

While not the best method to deter a tailgater, it was effective. On reflection, it was not such a smooth move, but it was the only time I ever saw him do that or anything similar.

Yeah, nowadays the driver would have pulled up next to your car and "peppered" it with bullets... especially if it was a D.C. or P.G. County driver.

I see it every day. Some poor smoker, who thinks he/she is cool. Flicks their cigs out the car window. Classless losers who are doomed an early death.

STOP F'ING UP OUR PLANET.

Lucky for her. $ 25 is a drop in the hat. I just got a ticket for $1132.
It would be cheaper to get a DUI or to run some old lady off the road.

Lets get to real issues like oil leaking cars and trucks, our roads, parking lots, intersections and everwhere I look there is poluting oil from leakers. Seaping into our water systems and making a mess everwhere. Numerous people die every year due to oily intersections and slippery roads. Plus it's a eyesore, leakers should be ticketed. The Police seem to have lots of spare time since they've solved all the real crimes... I guess, Maybe they can start to address this real major health and safety hazzard.

"Numerous people die every year due to oily intersections and slippery roads."

Please site your source for this information. I think you are full of Shit.

Concerned American - You are fucking stupid. It is not the police department's responsibility to deal with the entire worlds problems. They are not the EPA and do not have time to assess health and safety hazards in the world....it is not their job to do that.
Also, since you clearly know so much, the detectives who DO solve crimes are not the same people who are writing tickets. The police department is broken up into many divisions. Some officers are supposed to write tickets...others are solving crime. Clearly, you are fucking retarded if you think one police officer is solving all the county's crime.

You can get a ticket... Friend got one for not looking behind him to check for any signs of undercover cars or police cars in general and flicked it out... Went to court with a t shirt and short pants on... Said he was guilty and was out within 20 minutes after paying his fine...

The world is full of dicks, assholes, bitches, and cunts... No matter what theres going to be people who litter whatever they have on hand... Candy wrappers, buisness flyers, trash, bottles... Not going to stop at all...

Now.. if your so concerned about the environment, you should go visit a powerhouse factory ridden country like China and check out how much smog is released into the air from just ONE out of thousands... THAN you will see how futile it is to save the Earth now... Laws will be broken, other countries won't follow suit to create a healthier environment due to money and investments buried deep within countries made for cheap labor and heavy manufacturing.

Thurston Moore Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>


> $30 bucks

Thirty dollar bucks?

lolllllllllllllllll

Face it--Virginia is a Police State. Yes, the fascist legislators, judges, and prosecutors WILL JAIL you for disposing of a cigarette butt out the window. I hate cigarettes--they killed my mother, after all. But criminalizing a poor decision is insanely authoritarian. Educate people. Alot. Tell them it's wrong. But don't put them in jail for this. And while you are at it, decriminalzing speeding in this fascist state. Decriminalize underage drinking (do you really want your child, who had one beer at age 20, to be labeled a criminal for life?). It is all so Orwellian it sickens me. The State permits smoking, it collects a ton in excise taxes from it, then it wants to criminalize (and take more money from) the poor guy who doesn't have a clue that to toss a butt is a crime. It is disgraceful for this State.

Sic semper tyrannis.

No, it is not littering. it's called good old fun. I like to toss them out when I see a motor cyclist behind me. I especially like to do it at night. Sometimes I can get them to swerve. I also like to flip bb's out my sun roof on to tailgaters.

This is a tradition in my family, as a kid I was allowed to throw soda bottles out the window as my dad drove 75mph down I95. It's weird you would think a bottle would travel far but at 75mph it's hard to get them to clear the gurad rail. My dad used to say "hey some bum will find enough returnable bottles to cash in and buy a bottle of Boones Farm Strawberry Hill" so don't worry about it.

hmmm..

Federalist45 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I hate cigarettes--they killed my mother, after all.

no, your mother killed herself using cigarettes. there is always a choice. yes, i know what addiction is and i know it can be beaten.


> The State permits smoking, it
> collects a ton in excise taxes from it, then it
> wants to criminalize (and take more money from)
> the poor guy who doesn't have a clue that to toss
> a butt is a crime.

not only is it littering, it's a fire hazard. if you dont know it's littering, you are retarded. it may be unlikely to cause a fire but when a zillion people are chucking their cigs, one could very likely start a fire that destroys a home or light a kitten ablaze.

think of the kitties!


"the wisdom of the wise will perish, the intelligence of the intelligent will vanish."

If fairfax county govt. really gives a shit about littering why don't they make fast food joints have trash cans in the parking lots instead of letting all the fast fooders remove them

and really man have you looked around while driving and seen the trash all over the place

Federalist45 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Face it--Virginia is a Police State. Yes, the
> fascist legislators, judges, and prosecutors WILL
> JAIL you for disposing of a cigarette butt out the
> window. I hate cigarettes--they killed my mother,
> after all. But criminalizing a poor decision is
> insanely authoritarian. Educate people. Alot.
> Tell them it's wrong. But don't put them in jail
> for this. And while you are at it, decriminalzing
> speeding in this fascist state. Decriminalize
> underage drinking (do you really want your child,
> who had one beer at age 20, to be labeled a
> criminal for life?). It is all so Orwellian it
> sickens me. The State permits smoking, it
> collects a ton in excise taxes from it, then it
> wants to criminalize (and take more money from)
> the poor guy who doesn't have a clue that to toss
> a butt is a crime. It is disgraceful for this
> State.
>
> Sic semper tyrannis.


Cut your hair, move out of the basement, get a job, and shut the fuck up.

native 63 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>
>
> This is a tradition in my family, as a kid I was
> allowed to throw soda bottles out the window as my
> dad drove 75mph down I95. It's weird you would
> think a bottle would travel far but at 75mph it's
> hard to get them to clear the gurad rail. My dad
> used to say "hey some bum will find enough
> returnable bottles to cash in and buy a bottle of
> Boones Farm Strawberry Hill" so don't worry about
> it.

Early lessons never forgotten.

I still give bums money for booze.

Throwing a cigarette butt out of a window can definitely cause one to be charged with littering!

I witnessed a young lady getting convicted and sentenced for this in Fairfax County General District Court.

She worked at the judicial building and while she was waiting to pull out of the employee parking garage at the end of the day, she finished a cigarette and tossed the butt out her window. A judge was in the vehicle behind her and he managed to summon a deputy sheriff and have the girl stopped before she got out of the garage. The deputy cited her and gave her a summons! Her sentence included a fine and community service work -- picking up litter!

http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/nvswcd/newsletter/buttlitter.htm

Check out the above URL from Fairfax County.

On this page it states that: "Cigarette filters are made of cellulose acetate, a plastic that degrades slowly in the environment, if at all. Filters are designed to trap carcinogenic chemicals that smokers don’t want in their lungs and bloodstream. Littered butts are carried by wind and stormwater runoff into nearby water bodies. The cancer causing agents in the filters leak into aquatic ecosystems, threatening the quality of the water and aquatic life. Cigarette filters have been found in the stomachs of fish and birds who mistake them for food."

It further states that:
"Section 33.3-346 of the Code of Virginia makes littering or dumping trash a Class 1 misdemeanor, punishable by up to 12 months in jail and/or a fine up to $2,500."

And
"Section 10.1-1143 of the Forestry Code makes it unlawful to throw “any lighted smoking material” from a vehicle. This is a Class 2 misdemeanor violation, punishable by up to 6 months in jail and/or a fine up to $1,000. (With either the Class 1 or Class 2 offense, community service can take the place of jail time.)"

So, please spread the word, 'Virginia is not your personal ashtray!'

AMTang2

Best bumper sticker re: this...

'Keep your BUTT in your car.'

Sick of watching thoughtless self-absorbed jerks chucking butts out their windows b/c they don't want to smell the stench in their own car - every car has an ashtray - use it, not the roads, sidewalks, parking lots, etc.
Suck on your ciggies... & personal responsibility.

@ Helpmehelpyou-
Not every car has ashtrays today. If you buy a car already on the lot they don't come with ashtrays. Now you have to carry your ass to walmart and buy one.

I know it's littering, just think it's stupid to be pulled over for throwing one out of the window.

and to the person who stated that walmart in petersburg is in a woodsy area, yes, you are correct, but I was coming from the Petersburg direction not the Prince George area. It's all concrete there. It had become such a habit of chucking them out the window I didn't even remember doing it. Not that he was lying just didn't remember doing it.
And you have to know it wasn't a Petersburg cop b/c they still smoke in their city issued cars. It was a state trooper who was probably pissed that he was assigned to such a shitty area for the day.
I don't throw them out anymore. And considering I've vomitted all over my car when I was drunk I can assure you that the stinch of stale cigs doesn't bother me.

You have to understand the mentality of smokers to understand how they can so nonchalantly throw cigarettes out the window: These people are idiots. They willingly inhale poison on literally an hourly basis because they can't calm themselves down any other way. Their brains just don't work right. While you and I can generally stay relaxed with ease, smokers don't have the neurons to pull it off, so they require cigarettes.

So with this in mind it's hardly surprising to see people do this. You end up pitying them more than anything.

When I see a smoker I think how stupid can they be. Smoking=mental problems

> You have to understand the mentality of smokers...

Yesterday I was turning from Route 50 onto Chantilly Crossing. A guy was standing in the median with a sign asking for money. The light turned and traffic started up so he paused for a second, opened his jacket, pulled out a cigarette, and lit it with a lighter.

$5 or so of his donations - up in smoke.

i hate people who do that

eesh Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I know Fairfax takes littering seriously and I
> have seen people get jail time for it. I was
> curious if Fairfax gives littering citations for
> throwing cigarettes out of cars...thanks.


you were so polite back then eesh..

You drive your car everyday??Enough said

Kilton is right Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> When I see a smoker I think how stupid can they
> be. Smoking=mental problems


I don't think that smokers have "Mental problems", but I do think that they take having healthy lungs for granted.

==================================================================================================
"And if any women or children get their legs torn off, or faces caved in, well, it's tough shit for them." -2LT. Bert Stiles, 505th, 339th (On Berlin Bombardier Mission, 1944).

Whenever i see someone early in the morning smoking in their
car with the windows up...OMG..totally grosses me out.

It's just amazing that littering will get you a stiffer jail sentence and a heftier fine than a DUI. Go Virginia. Good to see they have their priorities in order.

Thurston Moore Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I'm not sure why this would be up for debate.
>
> Is shitting on the sidewalk ok?
>
> I'm a smoker, but I don't know how there could be
> some sort of exception for cigarette butts. If
> there's no ashtray available, you flick the cherry
> off the butt and then put it in a garbage can
> (being sure that no spark remains)
>
> On a side note, how stupid do you have to be to
> put straw wrappers, balled up napkins and other
> flammable things (or anything besides ASHES and
> CIGARETTE BUTTS) in a fucking ashtray?


Go incinerate yourself. You doper!

I've throwing cigarette butts out my car window and will do it again. Most often I only do this when driving on the highway for countless hours but I'm unrepentant.

The way I see it, someone is earning a living by having to clean up the streets and I don't want to deprive someone of an income just because a bunch of bullshit commercials have convinced the younger generation that smoking is paramount to murder.

Get a life and get out of my way.

Ogien Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I've throwing cigarette butts out my car window
> and will do it again. Most often I only do this
> when driving on the highway for countless hours
> but I'm unrepentant.
>
> The way I see it, someone is earning a living by
> having to clean up the streets and I don't want to
> deprive someone of an income just because a bunch
> of bullshit commercials have convinced the younger
> generation that smoking is paramount to murder.
>
> Get a life and get out of my way.


Total asshole.

Disgusted Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Total asshole.

I had already established in a thread the other day that he's an idiot, so his response here isn't surprising.

See how amazing the human mind is? It can convince itself of anything. He really & truly believes that there people being paid to clean up cigarette buts on major highways. :-)

Cigarette butts are made of cotton which is biodegradable. Dummies.

It's not as if the environment gets hurt or damaged

Conie Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Whenever i see someone early in the morning
> smoking in their
> car with the windows up...OMG..totally grosses me
> out.


I got to agree with you there. I can't understand how someone could smoke a cig with the window rolled up.

dumbasssssses Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Cigarette butts are made of cotton which is
> biodegradable. Dummies.
>
> It's not as if the environment gets hurt or
> damaged

Sorry to inform you fuckwit, but cigarette filters are made from cellulose acetate which takes 3 to 15 years to biodegrade. Why do you think there is a pile of them sitting in the left turn lane of nearly every intersection with a traffic light?

If I throw a crumpled up sheet of newsprint out the window on to the street (which will be pulverized to pulp in the first rain storm) it's called littering. The same should be said for pitching a cigarette butt out the window.

Everyone here puts themselves on a pedestal. You come to pat each other on the back.