When investigations are conducted into how many of the roadside fires and even some of the more substantial wildfires started, it is both surprising and disturbing that some can still be attributed to people throwing a cigarette butt out of the car window.
There have been many campaigns on TV on posters and local / national press trying to stop people doing this. Higher fines were imposed for anyone caught doing it, but now the government are getting as tough as they can on anyone caught.
Basically, discarding your lit cigarette butt from the car window could mean a prison sentence to anyone caught doing it in Spain. These days throwing anything out of a moving car could result in fines and prosecution.
Recently one of the worst wild fires in Spain, which affected a huge area of over 400 hectares in a natural park in Girona, was caused by a lit cigarette butt being thrown away.
A study by Spain’s environment minister concluded that most wildfires are either intentional arson or caused by negligence, 3% of which are directly attributable to cigarette butts thrown from moving vehicles.
It is worth noting that if you are caught throwing anything from a moving car you could be fines €200 and receive 4 points from your driving permit. However, if the item thrown from the vehicle causes road disruption, the fines could be far more severe between €3,800 and €9,800. If it ends up causing a wildfire then the perpetrator could also face prison with a sentence between 3 and 6 years.
