Drivers will face $100 fines if pulled over with kids under certain age in the car thanks to proposed law ...Middle East

LAWMAKERS are looking to add a surprising fine to drivers pulled over with children in the car.

A new bill proposed suggests that drivers who are pulled over with children under 12 should face a $100 fine.

The South Carolina bill specifies that drivers who are caught smoking with children in the car can be fined for exposing their kids to secondhand smoke. 

Democratic Senator Darrell Jackson pushed for this bill, arguing that parents should have consequences for exposing their children to secondhand smoke.

“I can’t imagine as a parent not knowing the danger of secondhand smoke,” Jackson told Queen City News.

The Center for Disease Control states that there is no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke and that inhaling secondhand smoke may lead to premature death.

“I researched and found that there are several states that have passed bills prohibiting smoking in vehicles with children,” Jackson continued.

The states Jackson referenced include: Arkansas, California Colorado, Delaware, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont, and Virginia. 

According to the CDC, Maine goes as far as banning home-based childcare facilities from allowing smoking in cars used to transport children up to 12 hours before.

“I think the time has come for us to have a serious discussion, having South Carolina join these other states,” Jackson told local CBS affiliate WCSC.

About one in 10 adults in South Carolina smoke, according to WCSC.

Jackson hopes that a bill like this one would make others think twice before smoking.

“We have a greater appreciation, a greater knowledge of secondhand smoke and what it does to human beings, period, particularly what it does to children.”

The American Cancer Society applauds Jackson’s efforts but has yet to help lobby for the bill. 

“We continue to see tobacco being a problem with the cost of our state and really just like the number of children and youth who are starting to smoke and the adults who continue to smoke,” Beth Johnson, spokesperson at the American Cancer Society, told WCSC.

“Right now in South Carolina, there’s still only 40% of our state that’s protected under a smoke-free policy. 

That means that you cannot smoke in indoors — indoor workplaces, restaurants, bars,” Johnson continued. 

“South Carolina also has some of the lowest amounts of funding programs, programs that we fund, for tobacco prevention and control, so that’s also a priority for us.”

New driving laws in 2025

Drivers across the United States are having to adjust to a slew of new road rules that take effect in 2025. Some of those include:

Despite the praise for attempting to limit children’s exposure to secondhand smoke, the ACS claims there’s no evidence this law would help the fight against smoking.

“There is no evidence that this type of policy would really have an impact on helping people stop smoking or to prevent anyone from smoking,” Johnson told Queen City News.

“Our policy is that exposure to secondhand smoke is bad for everyone, no matter the age and no matter your location, whether it’s in cars or restaurants and bars or workplaces.”

The bill has been filed, but no vote has been decided.

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