Just a thought......

Ok, I have a pet peeve--actually I have several and most of them concern other drivers, but this is a big one. Why won't people who smoke keep their stupid cigarettes inside their car and their ashtray? I am so sick and tired of seeing other drivers--and passengers, too!--flick their still lit butts out onto the road, where they bounce around, spewing hot ashes and cinders on whatever they happen to touch. I am waiting for one to fly back into my open window, and then there will be hell to pay.
See, I live in an area where we get wildfires every spring and fall. We have days where it is so dry the grass will crackle loud enough to scare the animals a mile away. Maybe the chances are miniscule, but aren't you basically throwing fire out your window? What if it just happens to land on a dry leaf and smolder till it catches fire? Maybe a long shot, but you know, my kids play outside, and I would like for them to be able to have an outside to play in.
Not to mention that tossing that butt out of your car window is, oh, ILLEGAL!!!!!It's called littering, folks. Just like that McD's wrapper or the Bud Light bottle you don't want your mom to find in your car. It's trash, and belongs in the appropriate container. Not on our roads.
My next peeve is along the same lines-----if you smoke, fine. I don't care. Smoke your brains out--or your lungs, whatever. I'll respect your right to kill yourself, as long as you don't try to take me with you. Don't expect me to breathe your foul stench as I am walking into Walmart or Kroger or whatever to shop. Don't expect me to breathe your fumes as I sit in a restaurant eating a meal--believe me it does not add to MY enjoyment. And quite honestly, YOUR right to smoke wherever ENDS where MY right to BREATHE begins. I am asthmatic. Things like cat fur and some common cleaners can bring on an attack----so does cigarette smoke. Smoke in your home, your car, your corner of wherever. If you run a business and wish to smoke in it, fine. I can choose not to patronize it. I don't go to places where I know I have to linger in the fumes. But it really irks me to hear about smokers' rights, when they don't act like we nonsmokers have any rights.
I have a neighbor who smokes, and various relatives. My neighbor is very considerate---always trying to stay where I don't smell it. Most of my relatives have learned over the years to do so also. Friends and family know they don't smoke in my home or car, just as I know that they do in theirs, and I take that into consideration when going somewhere with them. Fortunately I have been driving for 20+ years, so I don'thave to rely on them to go places with me.
Just think about it. I saw a sign once in a place where I worked. Basically it said sure go ahead and smoke. Puff away and enjoy it. "But I like to drink so mind if I pee on your head--that's the residue of my vice, just as smoke is of yours." You know, consideration works both ways.....