Stop throwing out lit cigarettes, thank you very mulch

I remember being very appalled when I moved east at the way people just toss lit cigarettes out the window so very casually. One of my coworkers did it and I flipped out - he didn't understand why it would ever be a problem, and blanched when I told him that if he did that in California he could find some big trouble. When I was growing up in the west, chucking a ciggy out the window could mean $1000 to $5000 fine or even jail time!

I remember my parents, who smoked but always used their ash trays, taking down a plate number and going to testify at a trial. There were apocryphal stories of tourists being jailed pending fine payment. It is taken that seriously by the law and by the citizens.