Here in
Florida, butt-throwing drivers are not only a nuisance, but can be a danger as well. Over the past few years, our
drought index has been extremely high, and I can't even count the number of
grass,
brush, and
woods fires
we have responded to that were caused by a
careless smoker.
In the middle of 2001, the fire danger was so high we had two incidents that made the papers involving butt-throwing drivers. In the first, a woman driving down the road in Pasco County threw a butt out the window, even though many alerts had been issued that even a minor spark could cause a major fire. A Pasco County Sheriff's Deputy happened to observe this, pulled her over, and arrested her for the act. I forget what the exact charge was, but it was something along the lines of endangering the public.
Then, a week later, a gentleman was pulled over on the side of I-4 for a traffic violation. While he was waiting for the officer to write the ticket, he threw his lit cigarette butt out the car window. The officer observed this, and promptly cited him for the violation, on top of a charge of driving without a license. Both charges put him in jail for 30 days.
So please, please think twice before throwing your cigarette butt out the window. It doesn't take much for a small fire to erupt into an inferno, especially if the conditions are right. And especially don't do it anywhere in Florida, even more so if you are near Tampa.