Cops ticketed a couple for smoking in a car with a child yesterday.
It’s a rare event: Halifax Regional Police spokesman Const. Brian Palmeter said they’ve only issued about 35 tickets for the infraction since the rule came into effect April 1, 2008.
“It’s not a Motor Vehicle Act violation, it’s a Smoke-free Places Act,” he said.
“Obviously these officers took note of it right away and took action which I have to commend them on.
“This is one that may get overlooked inadvertently but these officers observed it and wrote the ticket.”
The officers stopped the vehicle in the 2400 block of Robie Street just before 9 a.m. yesterday.
Two adults — a man, 39 and a woman, 30 — were allegedly smoking in the vehicle with an eight-year-old boy inside.
There’s a campaign to encourage drivers to call 911 if they see an impaired driver — but what if they see someone smoking in a car with a child or someone chatting on their cellphone while driving?
“We take statements and issue tickets on the statement, but the difficulty becomes when it’s one person giving you information, then that person is going to be required to go to court and it can become a he-said-she-said situation,” Palmeter said.
But Palmeter said police encourage people to call police if they notice infractions but they must be prepared to give a statement.
“Ideally we’d locate the vehicle and stop it,” he said.
