Getting back to the OP, it wasn't cigarette, weed, or cigar ashes. I've caught all 3 in my hand and they're not hot, going dead cold in well under 1 second
(Inadvertent admissions acknowledged, my younger life was wild
). So it was either the "cherry" (the smoldering part) or a butt containing that
Which smokers need to be very careful with in places with dry grass like that. And glad our dashcammer didn't just film it and drive on- Thank You!
I do let the ash part of my smokes fly out the vent window unless it's that dry, which it rarely is here. They're basically harmless dust so I'm not worried about them, but I'm a real advocate for not littering- the rest stays inside. That's better here now than in the past but there's still too much of it
On a road trip back in '91 where I hadn't been beyond Charlotte, Atlanta, or the coast in 5 years or so I noticed that once I got past the Appalachian mountains going west something was different about the roads but I couldn't quite pin it down. As I got past the Mississippi river mid-continent it dawned on me that there was almost no litter by the roadsides. By the time I got to the Rockies it was zero litter
I never realized how much that litter- even a little bit- totally ruins the beauty of nature
Furthermore in my work, once the walls are covered (or if a house is occupied) I smoke only outside, same as here at home. The butts get disposed of properly and if no place for them is handy I pinch them out and put the butt in a jacket pocket for disposal later. My ciggies are my problem, and I don't have the right to be offensive to someone else over them.
Unfortunately they are very addictive and they have begun damaging my lungs with COPD
They are NOT anything good, and in the end they will get you, so if you smoke don't follow in my footsteps- instead look at how they make me breathe hard at little exertion, how much they cost, and how bad they smell. Look at the people who care about you that don't want you to die from these things. Quit now- get help if you need to but quit, because the longer you wait the harder it is to do, and at some point you're going to run out of time and luck if you don't
Phil