Frédéric Michel, edited by Ophélie Artaud 10:17 a.m., August 13, 2022
As fires continue to rage in France and this weekend will be busy on the roads, the Vinci Autoroutes Foundation is launching a new prevention campaign to remind drivers of the dangers of throwing cigarette butts out of the window of their car. vehicle.
The opportunity to recall the simple gestures to avoid fires.
100 cigarette butts are discarded every day per kilometer of motorway.
So, on the occasion of this new weekend of holiday departures and while fires are still underway in several departments of France, the Vinci Autoroutes Foundation is launching a new prevention campaign.
"Don't throw your cigarette butt out the window", this message has been displayed since the beginning of the summer on many highway signs.
"The cigarette butt, a permanent danger"
"This is an essential and priority message. Each citizen must become an actor in their own safety and that of their loved ones. And it is also part of a civic approach by taking into account the risk that a cigarette butt can set fire to the forest", explains Franck Graziano, communication officer for the Var firefighters.
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On the road to vacation, you crush your cigarette in an ashtray and on a walk in nature, you banish the fire.
"The cigarette butt is a permanent danger, probably the first for the forest. And we see it every summer on the low sides of the road. Too many fires have to be stopped. But for people who are going to arrive in rentals, they must not barbecue when it is dangerous, or if it is windy", underlines Luc Langeron, who heads the information and prevention service at the 'Entente de Valabre, a public establishment which, in the face of natural risks, has brought together the 15 departments of the South-East since 1963.
And of course, we also avoid barbecues in the forest, work with tools that could cause flames or sparks, or clearing brush in the summer.