A motorist threw a cigarette out of his vehicle at just the wrong time Wednesday evening — doing the deed right in front of Victoria Police Chief Del Manak.
“Can you believe people are still throwing lit cigarettes out their car window?” Manak asked in a Twitter posting.
“Sorry, but I can’t ignore it when it happens right in front of me.”
Can you believe people are still throwing lit cigarettes out their car window? Sorry, but I can't ignore it when it happens in front of me. DRIVER, "I would never do it near grass." Excuse didn't work. #BeSmart #yyj pic.twitter.com/MpTQvEOmT1
— Del Manak (@ChiefManak) September 6, 2018
Responses on Twitter included people surprised that anyone would toss a cigarette after all of the wildfires and resulting hazy skies around B.C. in recent months.
“There’s a lot of emotion,” Manak said in an interview Thursday.
He said that the 39-year-old driver got a break, receiving an $81 ticket for littering when he could have been hit for $575 under the Wildfire Act.
That was largely because the driver earned himself a $138 speeding ticket as well. Manak said he wanted to write that ticket to ensure the speeding infraction went on the man’s driving record.
Manak said the incident unfolded as he sat in an unmarked police vehicle stopped at a red light on Blanshard Street.
The driver in front of him had his hand dangling out the window with a cigarette in it.
“The light goes green, he pulls the cigarette from out the window, takes one last puff and then flick, out it goes,” Manak said.
“Of course, it’s still lit because I can see the smoke, and it’s rolling around as I drive over it.
“Just careless.”
That’s when Manak said the driver earned his speeding ticket, going “pedal to the metal” from the light and reaching about 80 km/h in a 50 zone.
Manak asked the driver how he could toss a cigarette given the fire situation in the province.
“He said he would never do it around grass.”
Hardly an excuse, Manak said, especially since cigarette butts don’t always stay in one place.
Manak said the driver was reasonable to deal with.
He said with a laugh that the driver got both a lecture and a ticket, although police usually give one or the other.
“He obviously felt embarrassed by it, what he had done,” he said.
“He was apologetic.”
