Posted By Darren J Fraser
Short answer - yes

You would be unable to guarantee that the driver would never give a 'lift' to a none smoking employee, and also the vehicle cab / cockpit is their workplace anyway.

The difficulty will be in ensuring that the employees actually observe the no smoking law, think how you enforce the law regarding the use of mobile phones and using a hands free kit, how many times have you seen people with the phone to their ear whilst driving? (everyday I should think).

Posted By Brigham
Here's the dubiety of the English version. An employee has a company car, he smokes but never ever carries a business passenger and no-one else uses his car, so he rightly assumes that he doesn't have to comply with the Regs. Now 2.5 years down the line, out of the blue, he is made redundant and he has to give up his car, which goes to auction for re-sale. From what the last respondent said, he should have declared his car a smoke-free at the outset and he was breaking the law! Why/how?

Posted By Heather Collins
Signs on vehicles don't have to be A5 size - they need to be the 70mm diameter symbol-only variety. This is not going to obstruct anyone's visibility if done sensibly. We put ours in our pool cars this morning on the windscreen above the tax disc holder in each car.

Yes they are clearly visible from inside before anyone asks.

Posted By Robert K Lewis
Sorry about the size was overstating the point a trifle.However

Prominently visible to any person on entering cannot mean simply a single 75mm sign facing inwards in the top corner passenger side of the windscreen. It has to mean, in spite of the guidance material, at least one per door, visible from the outside. At least that is my view.

Perhaps we need a brave company with an existing and well managed no smoking policy to contest the need for signs under the regulation 6(c) defence. If it can be demonstrated and argued that exisitng policies are working and have the same effect as the ban there is sound reason that they should believe that they need not comply with the signage requirements as set out. I rather suspect that most prosecutions will find it difficult to demonstrate beyond reasonable doubt that the reason was not sufficient grounds for not complying. After all they will try and treat it as a strict offence, which it is not. We will wait and see however.

Bob

Posted By Heather Collins
and the correct Regulations in this context are the Smokefree (Signs) Regulations 2007

Posted By Darren J Fraser
Brigham

In yourfirst response you ask why/how

My understanding is that as the company car is supplied by the company and therefore falls under the PUWER regs it is a working environment.

Re your comment about never carrying a business partner or used by anyone one else, it would IMHO be impossible to state that unless it is a single person company.

If I have misunderstood the regs then I look forward to someone explaining where I am wrong.

Just for info, I do smoke, however if I am using a company vehicle I do not as per our company policy.

Posted By Brigham
Darren you said
"My understanding is that as the company car is supplied by the company and therefore falls under the PUWER regs it is a working environment"
It is for the purposes of PUWER!
You also said
"Re your comment about never carrying a business partner or used by anyone one else, it would IMHO be impossible to state that unless it is a single person company"
Why?

Posted By warderic
The answer is NO.

Posted By srd
We provided all of our company car users with a replacement tax disc holder containing the no-smoking warning.

Stephen.

Posted By Paul Timms
Our company provided stickers for all vehicles. The instruction for company cars is that the sticker should be on the back of the tax disc holder.

Posted By B J Mann
Yes, the vehicle sign is 70mm, and is required on works vehicles as per the regulations:

PART 3

Vehicles

Enclosed vehicles
11. —(1) ......a vehicle is smoke-free if it is used—

(b) in the course of paid or voluntary work by more than one person (even if those persons use the vehicle at different times, or only intermittently).....

(5) A vehicle is not used in the course of paid or voluntary work for the purposes of paragraph (1)(b) where it is used primarily for the private purposes of a person who—

(b) has a right to use it which is not restricted to a particular journey.


Clear enough, suppose.



Advice also makes clear that Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish vehicles are complying with the law if they have stickers legal under their own no-smoking regulations.

But they would be as they are the standard no smoking symbol, but the Northern Irish one is 75mm, Scottish one is 85mm diameter and the Welsh 80mm (on a clear background if affixed to the windsceen!).

What no one (from any of the four countries) has been able to tell me though is whether driving over the border with a 70mm, white background, English sticker will lead to prosecution.

Neither can anyone tell me if a container on a lorry counts as a compartment, or one on the ground counts as a workplace!

Anyone KNOW the answers?