Smoking Train Driver

[Railsigns]

I find it rather sad that people grass on a train driver having a crafty fag. What kind of world do we live in ? People happy for somebody to lose their job?

This driver wasn't just being "a bit naughty"; he was breaking the law.

Would you be happy for people to turn a blind eye if they witnessed somebody burgling your home?

 

[455driver]

I find it rather sad that people grass on a train driver having a crafty fag. What kind of world do we live in ? People happy for somebody to lose their job?

Oh come on, we had a thread a year or 2 ago where somebody was moaning because, shock horror, a XC driver was stood up driving a HST, I mean how dangerous is that! The OP on that one was asking about the rules and regs of driving etc and really going overboard! :roll:

To be fair to the OP on this thread he hasnt given any info about the service or location so it is basically 'just a chat' about the whys and wherefores of some skanky b'stard lighting up in the cab!

 

[CC 72100]

Appreciate the clarification . It should be a non issue though and I'm not Staff, for the benefit of other posters. I do smoke though

 

[455driver]

This driver wasn't just being "a bit naughty"; he was breaking the law.

Would you be happy for people to turn a blind eye if they witnessed somebody burgling your home?

Hardly crime of the century is it, unlike B&E! :roll:
Drama Queen!

 

[Railsigns]

Hardly crime of the century is it, unlike B&E! :roll:
Drama Queen!

Well it's serious enough that it's illegal. That means a line has been crossed.

Some types of behaviour I may disapprove of, but as long as it's legal I just have to put up with it.

 

[455driver]

Well it's serious enough that's it's illegal. That means a line has been crossed.

Some types of behaviour I may disapprove of, but as long as it's legal I just have to put up with it.

I dont actually have a problem with some fag-ender lighting up in the cab as long as they open the window and make sure all the ash etc goes out the window, if they leave it in the cab I scream and scream scream until I am thsick and will throw my teddy out the pram.

Lets have a little perspective, there are quite a few things which are illegal but most people are not bothered by them, obviously there are much more serious things that most people are bothered about.

 

[Toby!]

Ok, so it seems the consensus is that it's not dangerous (as I thought), though I did think that for something like pulling into a station you probably need to operate the controls, but I'm not a train driver.

Actually, the thing that got me the most (despite not being a smoker) is the hypocrisy of the situation.

 

[Darren R]

I have seen several train drivers (and guards) having a crafty fag with the cab windows open as trains go past the house; the sight merely makes me smirk - it certainly wouldn't make me report them to Northern! (But then again, I am a smoker myself! Some of these non-smokers - and reformed former-smokers are even worse - aren't quite so liberated in their attitudes! )

On one occasion I found myself on a packed-out evening peak Pacer, standing immediately behind the driver's cab since the train was so full. It was abundantly obvious that the driver was smoking; I was sorely tempted to yell through the not very thick partition wall between us "put that fag out - if I can't smoke on the train then you bleeding well can't!" (but decided not to.) What the driver didn't know though was that standing beside me was someone in FTPE uniform, who may well have taken a different attitude.

...one of my big bones of contention in my last job was that people who smoked essentially got an extra 20/30 minutes of extra breaks a day with all of the little cigarette breaks they went out for

That is why, as a manager (not in the rail industry) I ensure that everyone gets what I call a "Crisps break." Even as a smoker I can see that it's not remotely fair that only smokers get extra breaks.

 

[muz379]

(But then again, I am a smoker myself! Some of these non-smokers - and reformed former-smokers are even worse - aren't quite so liberated in their attitudes! )

being a non smoker I dont feel why I should be liberal in my attitude towards smokers when their choices impact directly upon my health .
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

That is why, as a manager (not in the rail industry) I ensure that everyone gets what I call a "Crisps break." Even as a smoker I can see that it's not remotely fair that only smokers get extra breaks.

Yeah I agree that it is fair , I dont personally have a problem with smokers having extra breaks as long as non smokers get the same extra time to do with whatever they want . Unfortunately not all managers are as good as this or some smokers would just sneak out to have their breaks or slyly have them at the back door

 

[welshpax]

Sometimes I read this forum and despair at the pettiness of some people, so what if the driver was smoking in the cab who cares,I would much rather have a driver smoking in the cab than someone who is stressed because they are not allowed to smoke.

Perhaps the old saying 'let he who is without sin cast the first stone' is quite appropriate here.

If you can honestly say that you obey every law in the land, then feel free to have a whinge otherwise shrug your shoulders and get on with life!

 

[theageofthetra]

Has any research been done into the effect of nicotine on attention/concentration? Possibly its calming effects may even help? On the other side as the consumption of any other drug (legal or not) whilst driving would lead to the inevitable meeting without tea & biscuits I am always amazed how smoking is still seen as 'oh its ok then'

 

[Clip]

Yes smoking is banned in the workplace but given the type of service this was then maybe the poor bloke had been at the controls for a good few hours and wanted one. Id be much happier with them smoking if it relieved the normal anxiety that comes through not having one for a while than him losing a bit of concentration at the controls wouldnt you?

As long as the windows are open and he cleans up, like others should in the cab then I see no issue - no matter the rights and wrongs of smoking in the workplace.

 

[313103]

Ok then lets ban the smoking ban and everyone will be happy.

 

[LowLevel]

I wouldn't report anyone for it myself but it can put you in a difficult situation - I was on a train once when the driver was smoking in a tunnel and it was blowing back through the saloon windows and stinking the next couple of coaches out.

The smell is a sore point but it's no worse than the mouldy damp smell that seems to be de rigeur with many of our train cabs I guess.

 

[455driver]

Perhaps the old saying 'let he who is without sin cast the first stone' is quite appropriate here.

Half a house brick on its way!




Only kidding!

 

[swj99]

Sometimes I read this forum and despair at the pettiness of some people, so what if the driver was smoking in the cab who cares,I would much rather have a driver smoking in the cab than someone who is stressed because they are not allowed to smoke...........
.........Perhaps the old saying 'let he who is without sin cast the first stone' is quite appropriate here.......

As an ex smoker, I can confirm that nicotine is highly addictive, and for some people, stopping smoking can be extremely difficult.
I read a book many years ago which mentioned a Canadian study suggesting nicotine addiction was on a par with heroin addiction. I couldn't speculate myself as I've never tried heroin, but if it did turn out to be true, I wouldn't be surprised.
Please bear in mind that addicts will do an awful lot to feed their addiction, even if this means in some cases, breaking rules in order to achieve it.

Oh and if anyone on here does want to stop but isn't sure how to do it, the Allen Car stop smoking book is good.

 

[richw]

After my gran stopped smoking she constantly moaned about the smell of smoke and such around her. My grandad found that amusing as he had put up as a non smoker for 50 odd years.
Since then we found some study saying that ex smokers are the worst to moan about smoking. Being a study I would take it with a pinch of salt but was interesting to hear anyway,
300,000 people a year suffer illnesses caused by second hand smoke according to the NHS.
Personally I'm a non smoker, never smoked but I couldn't give a monkeys if someone is smoking as long as they're not blowing the smoke over me, although what does irritate me is someone smoking that comes and stands over my daughter in her pushchair.

 

[ExRes]

One thing you should bear in mind about ex-smokers, yes it's a highly addictive habit and it's hell trying to stop, so ex-smokers are far more likely to cause a rumpus because the smell is trying to draw them (us) back into smoking again and regardless of the negatives, are there actually any positives about smoking ?, there is always the temptation to give in and start the habit again

 

[Tibbs]

Sometimes I read this forum and despair at the pettiness of some people, so what if the driver was smoking in the cab who cares,I would much rather have a driver smoking in the cab than someone who is stressed because they are not allowed to smoke.

Perhaps the old saying 'let he who is without sin cast the first stone' is quite appropriate here.

If you can honestly say that you obey every law in the land, then feel free to have a whinge otherwise shrug your shoulders and get on with life!

Because it's illegal.

A lot of people think it's fine to just jump on a train without a ticket and go for a few stops, after all what's the harm?

 

[DY444]

This issue came up at our place after someone was reported. The way it was put to us by the powers that be was, petty or not, it is against the rules and people in positions of responsibility cannot arbitrarily decide which rules they are going to follow and which they are not.

Incidentally the person concerned was was not sacked, merely given an informal reminder of what was expected. However some companies take a much dimmer view of this than others.

 

[Class377]

I would also argue that, as many ill-informed members of the public think that drivers have it easy (despite this not being the case), it's important that they appear as professional as possible. Whilst smoking might not be the worst thing in the world, it's probably best not to give the public an excuse to complain.

 

[lincolnshire]

Sometimes I read this forum and despair at the pettiness of some people, so what if the driver was smoking in the cab who cares,I would much rather have a driver smoking in the cab than someone who is stressed because they are not allowed to smoke.

Perhaps the old saying 'let he who is without sin cast the first stone' is quite appropriate here.

If you can honestly say that you obey every law in the land, then feel free to have a whinge otherwise shrug your shoulders and get on with life!

I agree with the above, what if the driver is smokeing, can it be proved beyond reasonable doubt that he was, do we have a picture of him with a cig in his mouth? or should all units have smoke detectors and video cameras fitted to prove if they are smokeing or not. The answer is where do we stop?

Look elsewhere first and ban smokeing in cars and people texting while driving cars, because if you drop a lit cig in a car where did it go? is it setting fire to you or on the floor and setting fire to the car? At least with a train it can,t change lanes etc. while looking for it and in the worse case the train will stop safely without anyone at the controls unlike a car moving a round the road while the driver finds his cig.

When all said and done how did they manage back in the days of steam etc?
two men in cab, poor signalling systems, no AWS etc. Was then driver allowed to speak to the secondman? Lets all grow up and mind our own business and let other people get on with doing there own jobs and give up posting rubbish on here.

 

[ExRes]

I think this is really all about one question, why should non-smokers have to put up with the smell and residual rubbish, ash and fag ends, left behind by smokers

 

[Hadders]

This is clearly against the rules (and the law) but I'd like to think that a responsible employer would offer support in the first instance to an employee in this situation.

Many employers offer employee assistance programmes and I'd like to think that advice and support to quit smoking would be covered by this.

 

[Antman]

I find it rather sad that people grass on a train driver having a crafty fag. What kind of world do we live in ? People happy for somebody to lose their job?

As a non smoker I am very supportive of the ban on all NR property, having said that I can have a bit of sympathy for train crew who might have to go for hours without a fag, obviously station staff can pop outside for a quick puff. As a compromise I do wonder if smoking shelters could be installed at the end of platforms in certain locations where it isn't practical to nip outside for a smoke for both staff and passenger use?

I must say I have never seen any rail staff breaking the law regarding smoking.

 

[Antman]

No, it's not allowed. Smoking "in the workplace" is banned by law. A train cab is just the same as a lorry cab and specifically banned.

I don't think smoking is banned by law in lorry cabs. Certainly the company I used to work for asked drivers to avoid smoking in cabs, unlike train drivers they had the option of pulling into a layby and getting out for a smoke. Although a bit of common sense applied and if it was tipping it down with rain and the driver smoked in the cab next to a wide open window I don't think anybody would have objected.

 

[Antman]

Because it's illegal.

A lot of people think it's fine to just jump on a train without a ticket and go for a few stops, after all what's the harm?

Exactly, we can't pick and choose what laws we obey and which ones we don't!

 

[BuhSnarf]

So if we're saying that drivers are allowed to smoke in their workplace because it's a stressful job and not having a fag might lead to them being too anxious to drive properly (!) we therefore also must then allow those that need a fag after a stressful day in the office one in the toilet of a train - because what's the harm?

Strikes me of huge hypocrisy like someone mentioned earlier. If you want passengers on the train to not smoke you can't be having the highly addictive smell waft in to the carriages!

And again whilst it's not dangerous it's discourteous to those that work with you. Why should your nasty habit have to effect your colleagues when they take the cab from you?

Sent from my GT-I9505G using Tapatalk

 

[Toby!]

When all said and done how did they manage back in the days of steam etc?
two men in cab, poor signalling systems, no AWS etc. Was then driver allowed to speak to the secondman? Lets all grow up and mind our own business and let other people get on with doing there own jobs and give up posting rubbish on here.

Leaving the current debate aside, they managed considerably less well in terms of safety for a start. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_rail_accidents_in_the_United_Kingdom

Also, there is undeniably a public interest in how people such as train drivers do their jobs given the responsibility it entails.

 

[A-driver]

Of course smoking in cabs is illegal however (and I don't mean this in response to the OP but others who have responded) what business is it of anyone else's if he is smoking or not?its not crime of the century, it won't affect the safe or punctual operation of the train or railway and it won't be affecting any passengers so why would anyone bother to report them? It just stinks of busybodies with nothing better to do with their time than find problems then report people for them in the hope action will be taken. Try relaxing and not involving yourself in things which don't concern you.

If he was doing something clearly unsafe then that's different and if the smoking affects someone else (like the next driver) then that is for them to take action against. I can see no reason why anyone would report something like this. Yes it's illegal but if it didn't concern you and isn't going to cause harm or upset to anyone then why involve yourselves?!