Smoking while driving ?

[deathmetal]

Of my (rare) pipe smoker sightings in the wild, several have been men in pickup trucks with bent billiards.
If you can figure out how those data points fit into the mathematics of the cosmos, let me know...

 

[oldredbeard]

I smoke in both my trucks, and have never had a problem with the smoke filling them up, even with the windows all the way up. However I usually keep the drivers window slightly open.

 

[hierophant]

I do frequently. I have a pickup with a sliding vent window in the back window and opening that and putting the fan on a mid-range setting keeps the truck pretty clear of smoke for the most part. I usually pick a low maintenance blend (what I like to call "driving tobaccos") for the truck, Carter Hall, 1-Q, (now) Wild Atlantic, something that just burns like it should and needs only a tamp now and then and maybe a relight.

 

[okiescout]

New car and have chosen not to smoke in it. I only smoke early or later in the day anyway with my current life style so it has not been a sacrifice.

 

[jpmcwjr]

I smoke in my car all the time if the trip is over a half hour, and frequently when it's a shortie. Always use a lighter so I am not fumbling with matches, and keep an extra tamper in the console.

 

[gloucesterman]

Only down side to smoking when you're driving is that the car will start to smell like your ashtray. If you're ever planning to sell it or trade it in, the smell never gets out of the fabric. Me, I drive a Jeep Wrangler and I can keep that beast going until I'm gone and I don't mind the smell at all. In fact I kind of like it. But I do leave the window open just a bit all the time. It helps.

 

[rcstan]

I did in the other vehicles, but I smoked cigs in there too. No smoking in the "learn Spanish in the car" car. Even with uber-anal cleaning, purifiers and the such, the smell never goes away, and I happen to dislike the scent of stale smoke, especially on my own clothes.

There's also the part where I thought my driver side window was all the way down, and I was smoking this 7" Ashton Old Church Canadian. Whilst making a left turn and naturally looking over the shoulder, the pipe hit the window and I deep throated the stem. I since have an unexplained fear of the Canadian and Lumberman shapes. Makes it fun on the workbench when I get to resto one.

 

[peteguy]

Wife hates the smell when she gets into my truck. I have tried every gimic, fragrance, and old wives tale idea on removing that smell. I still smoke when I drive - makes the commute fly by. Sorry honey, guess we take your car.

 

[settersbrace]

Swerve tamping is an art form. As is swerve lighting and ooh boy, if you need to run a cleaner through the shank while doing 70! Sheesh.
I too like having a pipe while on a road trip with some good music, I find my driving much improved as well as not being in any particular hurry to pass or get aggravated at other much more distracted drivers.

 

[jpmcwjr]

There's also the part where I thought my driver side window was all the way down, and I was smoking this 7" Ashton Old Church Canadian. Whilst making a left turn and naturally looking over the shoulder, the pipe hit the window and I deep throated the stem. I since have an unexplained fear of the Canadian and Lumberman shapes. Makes it fun on the workbench when I get to resto one.

I'd say your fear is very explainable! Your mishap will help others, though, and I am going to start making sure I've got shorties and bents in the car!

 

[shroedingerscat]

Of course. Driving is one of my favorite times to smoke. It makes the trip go faster and smoother.

 

[ssjones]

I drive at least 50k per year, but have never attempted to smoke in my car. I don't think I'd be able to relax. Brian L asked me in the recent interview if I smoked in our MGB. Not a chance! One month of work and a pretty pricey interior don't mix with a lit pipe...

 

[deathmetal]

For most people in the city, "driving" means parking at 5mph in gridlock with others. Sure, you could smoke during that, but it takes a pleasant activity and mixes it with an unpleasant one, which may create Pavlovian conditioning that causes the pleasant activity to become less pleasant. I would also be afraid of lit embers blowing around the car, probably igniting a big stack of books in the back or something of that nature.

 

[carver]

Man, I live in China and I don't own a car here, but I'd love to try that, clenching the pipe while driving around in the countryside, two of my most enjoyable pleasures at the same time.

 

[msandoval858]

I love smoking my pipe while driving. No road trip would be complete without it. What's funny to me is that I can't do well in a slow smoke contest to save my life. But if I hop in the truck and fire up a bowl, it usually stays lit 45 min to an hour without a problem. I guess driving makes me a better pipe smoker!

 

[gloucesterman]

I did the daily Boston Commute for years, bumper to bumper for an hour each way. I'd fire up a bowl of good tobacco, turn on some classical music and watch with amusement all those around me pulling out their hair and yelling obscenities at each other. Because I was slow sipping that bowl meant I was in no hurry. Changed the commute from a rat race to the best show in town.

 

[mso489]

I've considered smoking a pipe in the car, but I don't. I do a lot of in-city driving with lots of other unpredictable people. I'm a moderate driver, not a slow poke, but pretty temperate. But I tend to have a few channels going in my brain already. I work at staying deliberate and focussed, but I'm not as good as some drivers. Had a family member who had immense concentration and could drive very fast without every cutting anyone off, and always knowing where other vehicles were and where they would be, what I called NASCAR proficient. That's not me. So I might take my pipe along, but I don't smoke it in the car. I might smoke a cigar after lunch on a long road trip, to avoid drowsiness, but mostly, I don't smoke and drive.

 

[derfatdutchman]

Do I smoke while driving? Yes, but only while driving the lawn mower. In the past on occasion I've smoked in my truck, but it never became habit. I rather light up when I reach my destination.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I don't even start my car till my pipe is ready. I disconnected my airbags when my kids were young. My car smells pretty good, aromatics in the morning and Virginias the rest if the day. I've been told my car has an herbal smell. The room note after a good straight Virginia is tea-like, IMO, and my wife always asks me to smoke in hers. She likes it. Except for latakia and strong VaPers.

I've never had an issue. Pipe clenched, window down, tamper in shirt pocket and lighter in door handle. I don't even have to think about my pipe. It's just a part of me.