Whereas
the rate at which people do smoke has considerably reduced for the past years, more
than a billion smokers still exist globally. Because of this, there is need for
one to first understand which policies do govern car rentals especially when it
comes to smoking. That said, each car rental company has its own policies that
anyone who hires a car must observe. Car Hire Companies usually do exactly what you
think-they hire out a vehicle to people who are in need of them and they come
at a fee that is also determined by several policies and restrictions together
with differing levels of the quality of the vehicle that are rated by economy,
standard, intermediate and luxury.
Note
all car hire are deemed smoke free zones and your car hire terms and conditions always state that no one is allowed to smoke in a care hire. Meaning,
unless the local legislation states otherwise, you won’t be breaching any laws
by lighting up in a car hire. However, what you will be doing is mainly exposing
yourself to a potentially huge cleaning bill from the car rental company you
will be dealing with and that is why we advise you never to smoke in a car
hire.
In case
of breach of stipulated terms and you smoke inside the car hire, this
won’t only expose you to excess cleaning charges by also cause damage the care
either from a cigarette burn or worse of it cause accident and this may render
your insurance invalidated for using the vehicle outside what the terms and
conditions state hence exposing you to a repair bill that perhaps you never
prepared for.
Equally,
the same policy applies to e-cigarettes or alternatively make a stopover and do
it outside. Despite the fact that e-cigarettes usually never emit the same
smoke or lasting smell on car fabrics which could leave you in serious
problems, smoking in a car rental-e-cigarette can still lead you to unplanned
charges or rather unnecessary distraction.
Another
important question that many people usually do ask is whether it is illegal to
smoke while driving. Technically, it is illegal for you to do and worse still
if you did it while on road trip where discarding the cigarette butts out of
the widow can easily cause wild fires especially during the dry season. The fact
that no car hire company in Uganda allows smoking in their cars, breaking such
a significant term means a huge charge to you goes into place as smoke can get just
about anywhere. Usually, a car hire agency is in position to know if you did
smoke in a car based on off of a sniff test. So in case there is a smell of
smoke in the car, this becomes an indicator while others may check for
cigarette butts or ashes and once found, you are liable for a charge. In case
you need to clean a car rental that has been smoked, alternatively, you will
need some labor with a bottle of vinegar/Windex together with ozium and a
vacuum.
The other
policies that are in line with car hire include a security deposit and in most
cases, every car hire company has its mode of payment; others may require you
to drop off at a certain point on the premise in that the vehicle can be cross
checked by an associate whereas others may require you to park in the
designated spot, remove your property and then you turn the key in. On the
other hand, persons above 21 years are usually eligible to hire a car but this
varies from country to country as others allow even those at 18 years and above.
Besides, you need a valid government ID which is not expired to hire a car and
your ID should have your photo and must valid for specified car hire period. Generally,
for those of you who are thinking of smoking in car hire, our advice is that
simply do not do it! To avoid related charges that come because of smoking in a
car rental, is perhaps do it elsewhere.
