When the parking lot is your co-workers’ ashtray

You could argue this is a first world problem.

After the show Wednesday I went out to my car and noticed all these cigarette butts left on the surface of our parking lot. Now, I know exactly what went on here, because I know who's car was parked next to mine this day. It belongs to someone who smokes, and this particular person often goes outside to smoke and often does it standing by their car. I noticed some of the butts were thrown while standing between my car and theirs, and others were smoked and tossed on the driver's side of this person's car. Two more were tossed a few feet to the left of that. All the same brand, all the same person.

I offer the following evidence of this selfish, disgusting littering in the form of exhibits A, B, C, and D.

The diabolical fiend knows who they are, so I'm not looking to shame anyone. Like I said, first world problem. And hell, I used to smoke for awhile when I was young. I get it. It's just what I don't get, never did get, is why some smokers have to throw their butts wherever they please. When you see drivers do this, does it make you crazy? It does me. There's a certain screw-the-rest-of-you arrogance that goes with throwing your cigarette butts wherever you damn well feel like it. If there's an outside ashtray at work, use it. If there's not, then keep your own in your car and use that.

What really cracks me up are the smoking drivers who flick their butts out the window and say they do it because they don't want their car to smell like an ashtray. Guess what smoker? It already does! Most smokers are just noseblind to it. You can get a fine for tossing cigarettes butts out your car window. That fine can be as high as $1,000. What precisely does the New Jersey law say?

"39:4-64. a. No person shall throw or drop any bundle, object, article or debris of any nature from a vehicle whether in motion or not when such vehicle is on a highway. The words 'object, article or debris of any nature' as used in this section shall be deemed to include a cigarette, cigar, match, or ashes or any substance or thing in and of itself likely to cause or fuel a fire, but such inclusion shall not be deemed to in any way limit the generality of the words 'object, article or debris of any nature.' Any person who violates this section shall be subject to a fine of not less than $200 or more than $1,000 for each offense."

So if ashes are even included, then technically even ashing your cigarette out your window is against the law let alone discarding your butt. I'd love to see police write a ton of tickets for this. Who's with me?

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