Lights off at petrol stations?

[TW]Fox;14806643 said:
Surely most people leave lights on at a petrol station. Why turn them off? You turn the engine off and your headlights go out anyway, leaving the sidelights on simply means when you leave the forecourt your lights go back on, handy if its dark :confused:
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IIRC going back a few (10-20?*) years there always used to be signs on the forecourts/pumps asking you to turn the engine, lights and radio off before filling up.
I guess at some point it was considered risky to have the lights on whilst refuelling (probably due to the quality of old English car wiring, and modern French electrics:p).

I know it's something that I've always done, turn the lights/radio off before getting out of the car to fill up, and never given much thought to (much the same as you don't give much thought to putting on seatbelts, it's automatic).



*I'm fairly sure they were still up when I started driving about 14 years ago.
 
Werewolf said:
IIRC going back a few (10-20?*) years there always used to be signs on the forecourts/pumps asking you to turn the engine, lights and radio off before filling up.

I guess at some point it was considered risky to have the lights on whilst refuelling (probably due to the quality of old English car wiring, and modern French electrics:p).

I know it's something that I've always done, turn the lights/radio off before getting out of the car to fill up.



*I'm fairly sure they were still up when I started driving about 14 years ago.
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I vaguely recall this as well, although could be confusing that memory with one of travelling in the euro tunnel... :confused:

I cannot recall how strictly it was inforced but nowadays I can say through personal experience that most petrol stations do not really bother agressively inforcing these rules anymore, infact the only main concerns I hear at garages now are "please do not use your mobile" and "pay first!!" (the latter only really at night time). In my local station I regualrily see people (chavs) smoking (although not by the pumps themselves) and the management do not say anything at all as they are not directly underneath the forecourt, yet they do to people on phones by the pumps... contradictory I know but I guess each to his own, petrol stations included.
 
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Mobile phones, have never been the reported cause of an incident that I could find, I spent a while searching the internet for it. But they are a distraction and being distracted while fueling or walking across a busy forecourt is not a good idea generally.

On the point of smoking, did anybody see that episode of mythbusters where they tried to light a trail of fuel with one?
 
Dano said:
...being distracted while fueling or walking across a busy forecourt is not a good idea generally.
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This just reminded me of a clip I saw on one of those road wars or police chase shows or something, it was of a guy filling up his ferrari at a petrol station and he wasn't paying attention to what he was doing, the fuel started to over flow and it fell onto his hot exhaust tip and ignited (the reason the narrator gave) causing the car to blow up and him to get engulfed by flames... he escaped pretty easily though and didn't appear to be hurt if I recall correctly.
 
PiKe said:
Fox is just being victimised for driving his dads car :)
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this is coming from the person that said something as foolish as;

Do you have to do anything special when you add meat to a toasted sandwich such as cold meat slices? I don't want to get food poisoning by not heating the meat up enough...
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trying to mock someone for driving an awesome car, that if im right belongs to him, whilst not having basic life skills to enable you to make a such a simple thing as - the toastie. :eek::p
 
4 Page thread on this!!! Like I can be bothered to read it all. At my station you would have got served, the only reason I won't turn somones pump on is:

a) facing the opposite way
b) mobile phone (all myths i know but it's just the rules)
c) engine running, tho tbh I can only tell when something big and loud comes in, for e.g the guy with a Pulsar and turbo timer lol, he has to wait ages.

Guy driving a 5 series with the lights on.... erm no. If I thought you were going to drive off I'd just note your reg tbh. Only people I suspect is ****** in hoodies who NEVER look forwards. You tend to get a feeling for it.
 
nuvpal said:
What is the problem with this? Genuinely I cannot see it as a major concern if they are not causing any inconvenience to other pump users.
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Very narrow lanes at our pumps, no gaps inbetween, if everybody needs to get out in an emergency they are going to hold people up. No matter how "good" they say they are at reversing they are never going to be as fast as everybody facing forwards. Larger stations with big lanes I can't see the problem.

The hoses stretch anyway as they are huge.
 
[TW]Fox;14806776 said:
I'm happy to go along with the idea that people who work at Esso are morons.
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Another nice sweeping statement.

The woman you started this rubbish thread about probably thinks your a ****er for not just turning off ya lights like any normal person would.

Be honest, are you really this much of a **** in real life?
 
Fox, were you wearing a hoody during the incident.

If so I think we have solved the mystery of the thread.
 
We moan about how expensive fuel is, but how much more so would it be if the filling stations weren't running on the slimmest margins and in such hot competition with each other?
And acting as unpaid tax collectors for HM Govt.
No wonder they're as 'careful' as practiable without actively driving customers away. Some balancing act eh! And I read somewhere that one 'drive-off' can cancel a day's profit on fuel.
 
This is a forum about motors where tiny issues such as this are discussed, pretty much all the threads are petty but otherwise what would there be to discuss? Not an awfull lot thats for sure...
 
thepeteh said:
This is a forum about motors where tiny issues such as this are discussed, pretty much all the threads are petty but otherwise what would there be to discuss? Not an awfull lot thats for sure...
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What?

This is an internet forum, crap gets posted and discussed...much less drivel is posted in Motors than in GD though.
 
The keeping your door closed thing was only ever really supposed to to enable the staff to see what is being filled up. ie a van with the side door open with some shady fellow filling up a container in the back - which you wouldnt see with the door open hense the rule. however it is taken a bit to far really. but still - what possible reason is there to keep the door open anyway? :confused:

as far as lights go again thats a tricky one. a car with lights on on the forecourt can and will obscure the camera's from confirming the number plate. i dont know what the real rules are regarding lights across the different stations, but at the least switching the engine off is (or should be) stated on every pump in every BP station across the uk. Again i havent bothered looking but i cant imagine esso being much different.

at the end of the day, 90% of these silly rules do have a purpose and are written on the pump in most cases. It's a pain in the arse but how hard is it really to switch it all off? though i think you'd have an argument if the forecourt lighting wasnt adiquate, but ive not seen many stations with poor lighting :)
 
[/QUOTE] And I read somewhere that one 'drive-off' can cancel a day's profit on fuel.[/QUOTE]

What? So a Esso garage makes £60 a day profit? I dont think so!
 
There is a very small profit margin in retailing fuel but I wouldn't have thought it would be £60 on a days trading.
 
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