Truckers Smoking in Ohio

This ban applies ONLY to Ohio based trucks, and stems from the ruling that says an employer MUST ban smoking in the workplace by the employess. While it is admitted the trucker is normally alone in the cab of the truck, the employer, and the employee, are still bound by the rule. Trucks that are registered outside of the state are not affected by the ban.

A report in the Columbus dispatch has several quotes of note:

"But Ohio officials and cosponsors of the anti-smoking measure said the ban as it applies to truck drivers won't be enforced.

"We're not going to have inspectors climbing into cabs to check on the drivers," said Tracy Sabetta, co-chairwoman of the Smoke Free Ohio campaign. "The intent was never to target truck drivers."

This ban here in Ohio was not a major victory for the proponents of the bill, as it was poorly worded, and many did not actually understand what they were voting on. Thinking they were voting for a competing issue that allowed limited smoking in desiginated area's. A lawsuit has already been filed to have it removed.

Richar Durst, President of Artic Express and chairman of the Ohip Trucking Association was quoted as:

"Given that enforcement is expected to be lax for truck drivers, would Durst give an employee the OK to smoke behind the wheel?

"In the strictest letter of the law, I would tell them 'no,' " he said. "But they probably won't ask me that."

It seems the scare tactics being published throughout the industry are nothing more than attention grabbers.

Monty Rhoades is a staff writer for Truck Net