What Should We Do With People Who Throw Litter From Their Cars?

Matt Hubbard
Speedmonkey
February 13, 2014

Does Speedmonkey have a typical reader? Maybe, maybe not. But I'll try and sum us up.

If I had to guess I'd say mostly you are knowledgeable and discerning about your cars, you like many and varied machinery, loathe overly commercial publications telling you nonsense about cars, love old cars and new cars alike, own something slightly unusual (and love it) but want something more expensive and impractical.

In terms of your attitudes to roads and other drivers I would say you have a 'them and us' mentality where car enthusiasts mostly know how to drive safely and courteously but 90% of 'other' drivers don't but you wish they would, want to be able to share the roads with others who use observational skills, like driving fast where conditions allow and appreciate diversity in other's car choices.

I may be totally wrong in all the above assumptions but there's one area in which I think all regular Speedmonkey readers think alike...

We all loathe people who throw litter from their car windows.

People throw all manner of junk from their cars - empty drink cans, bottles, plastic bags, cigarette boxes, fast food wrappers. They consume and then they discard. Without thought for anybody or anything else.

This makes the roads look untidy, has an impact on the environment and wildlife and is downright despicable behaviour. Oh, and it costs us tax payers a fortune, because some other poor sod has to clean it up at our expense.

Littering is done by selfish morons, who should be punished. It is indicative of a wider attitude towards their fellow humans which demonstrates their inability to drive on roads with any semblance of respect.

The authorities spend far too much time catching 'offenders' by proxy with speed cameras and other nonsense. Instead real police should be observing by eye, ticking off those who make minor errors, and coming down hard on idiots who throw litter from their cars.

Litterers should have their driving licences revoked until such time as they have picked absolutely clean at least one mile of motorway, by hand, in the dark.

Or am I being too lenient?