Mobile Phones and Gasoline Stations [MERGED]

[silver_corolla]

Cutting off mobile phone calls when you drive into a petrol station for fear of causing an explosion may not be necessary after all, it emerged today.

Rachel Williams, PA
news.scotsman.com


Cutting off mobile phone calls when you drive into a petrol station for fear of causing an explosion may not be necessary after all, it emerged today.

According to a paper to be presented later this week the commonly held belief that a spark from a phone could ignite petrol fumes is nothing but myth.


The “phantom risk” has apparently been created through a heady mix of rumour spread by the internet and word of mouth, and excessive concerns over safety.

Dr Adam Burgess, of the University of Kent, will tell the annual conference of the British Sociological Association that not one of the 243 petrol station fires attributed to mobiles worldwide in 11 years was actually the result of such a spark.

Instead, many were found on investigation by BP’s fire safety officer Richard Coates to have been caused by the discharge of static electricity from the body igniting fumes.

“The petrol station/mobile phone story crosses into the realm of rumour and urban legend,” Dr Burgess said.

“It’s properly groundless, a story of health and safety gone mad.

“Even on an oil rig the only real reason not to use a mobile is because of the issue of distraction.”

Forecourt bans on mobiles were first introduced in the aftermath of the Piper Alpha tragedy of 1988, where 167 men died off the coast of Scotland after the explosion of a gas processor on an oil and gas production platform.

Dr Burgess says the event gave “shape and momentum” to the drive towards ever-greater safety.

“It was possible in this climate of systematic risk reduction for the restriction on cell phone usage to be introduced without any challenge,” he writes.

“The ban was not based upon any scientific research, but a relatively instinctive precautionary response from those charged with responsibility for safety at British service stations.”

When manufacturers such as Motorola and Nokia printed warnings in their manuals not to use mobiles at petrol stations because of the risk of fire the idea was given further credence, and has since proved hard to dispel despite recent research showing “there is nothing to worry about”.

Dr Burgess says a lit cigarette is not hot enough to ignite petrol on a filling station, let alone the low voltage of a mobile.

In the UK, he says, there is now official acknowledgement of the lack of evidence and the principle issue against using phones on the forecourt is that it might distract the customer, yet confusion and misunderstanding prevail.

“There appears to be no desire on the part of oil companies or UK safety officers to clarify the issue,” he complains.

“In practice the restriction continues to be enforced on the basis that there is something inherently dangerous about the cell phone in such an environment.

“Cell phones remain a mysterious, unexplained hazard at the gas station.”

[BlueBimmer]

guilty ako dto...

[the_wildthing]

Parang nadebunk na rin ito ng Mythbusters duo...

[silver_corolla]

there's nothing wrong at all turning your mobile phone while filling gasoline on your tank. black propaganda lang ng mga petroleum players yan dahil sa totoo lang pwede ma mis calibrate ang reading ng metro nila dahil sa interference ng mobile cellfone mo. hehe.... :D

[artpogi]

Parang nadebunk na rin ito ng Mythbusters duo...

Korek, it was already proven by Mythbusters that using cellphones while filling up gas does not and will not trigger explosions.

[ILuvDetailing]

static energy is the main cause of explosions or fires in gasoline stations, well according to discovery channel... specially in cold countries.

[1D4LV]

what about non-turning off of the engines while filling up? minsan kasi nakipag-away ako about dyan eh. ang init ng panahon and i was riding with my kid na may skin asthma, tapos hirit ba naman sa akin nung gas boy eh kung ayaw ko patayin makina ko, pakarga na lang daw ako sa iba...

[chieffy]

what about non-turning off of the engines while filling up? minsan kasi nakipag-away ako about dyan eh. ang init ng panahon and i was riding with my kid na may skin asthma, tapos hirit ba naman sa akin nung gas boy eh kung ayaw ko patayin makina ko, pakarga na lang daw ako sa iba...

tado yung gas boy na iyon ah...kung ako dealer ng station na iyon palalaklakin ko sya ng gasolina eh ...sentimo na nga lang kinikita ko dyan eh mawawalan pa ako ng customer di ko kaya siya swelduhan he he ...ako di ko pinapansin kahit sabihin sa akin iyon (pasaway din ako eh he he)

[jvdejesus05]

yup, saw that episode by myth busters. cfnes won't ignite gasoline to cause an explosion.

[silver_corolla]

what about non-turning off of the engines while filling up? minsan kasi nakipag-away ako about dyan eh. ang init ng panahon and i was riding with my kid na may skin asthma, tapos hirit ba naman sa akin nung gas boy eh kung ayaw ko patayin makina ko, pakarga na lang daw ako sa iba...

same sentiment HG. pissed off din ako sa mga gasoline boy na ganyan. pero awa ng diyos hindi pa naman ako pinapalipat ng ibang gasolinahan.... hehe.... yung iba kasing gasoline boy napapaki-usapan ko yung iba naman mahigpit talaga... e madali naman akong kausap kaya pinapatay ko din engine ko.... harhar... pero kadalasan pinapatay ko ang engine ko kapag mag-isa lang ako sa kotse, kapag kasama ko si misis at si baby namin hindi ko pinapatay ang makina until he (gaso boy) told me to do so pero with pakiusap na yon na pwedeng wag na lang.

[theveed]

Sa Shell ganun... While ok lang sakin dahil inutusan lang naman sila, dapat mas flexible sila.

2 cases sakin eh, one time I was having a vacuum problem sa car ko, if I shut it down and restart within 5 mins or so... ayaw ako pagbigyan, fine sa kabila ako nagpakarga...

Second time naman naubusan ako ng diesel, dala ko 1 gallon jug ko sabi ko emergency lang naubusan ng gas, aba di padin ako binentahan ampuch....

hehe.

[larshell]

I just want your opinion on this. When going to any gas station and the pump attendants(gasolineboy) ask you politely wd a smile to TURN OFF your ENGINE and CELLPHONE. What will you do?Will you turn off your engine wd your baby inside and your wife on hot summer time? Will you turn off your cellphone wd your boss on the line?What do you think guys? Safety first or Hustle?

[nugundam93]

i would turn both off. tutal, it's only gonna be a short wait when filling up, even with the added time kapag credit card ang gamit mo.

[wildthing]

sure I would turn it off.

Napaka arte naman ng baby and wife ko pag ganun - pede naman buksan ang windows muna besides hindi naman sila naka bilad sa araw when loading the tank plus madali lang naman magpafull-tank (at most 5 mins - unless 200 galloner ang gas tank mo).

Sa phone naman, technically everyone shouldn't be using the phone while driving di ba? Besides, I'd be more than happy to tell my boss to wait and I'll call him back kasi nag-papagas pa ako.

Hindi ko na siguro pag-iisipan ang sagot kung SAFETY FIRST kesa HUSTLE ..... I would rather chose safety rather than me and my family die first (say explosion kaya ng gas station dahil sa hindi pag sunod sa simpleng alituntunin)???

[flakez]

hindi na nila kelangan sabihan ako na patayin ung makina, pag may lumapit sa akin at nagtanong kung ano ikakarga pinapatay ko na kagad ung makina.

[BlueBimmer]

turn off but it has been proven in a Mythbusters episode that cellphones dont cause any risk at gas stations.

[yebo]

boss, on the phone when i'm with my wife and kids? i'd tell the boss to shut up and to tell me what his problem is later when i get back to work (and under salary!) he should know better than to call me when i'm off duty. siya ang hassle, not the gas attendant who is only doing his job, and saving you from getting fried!

and yes, there is an mmda ordinance that disallows the use of cell phones when filling up and while driving. meron din yata quezon city local law that penalises the same with a fine and prison term. sa metro manila 2 kotse na yata nasunog when someone used a cell phone while filling up.

as for keeping the engine running during filling up, most gas stations do not implement this strictly. after all, you do not push the car out of the station after filling up naman di ba. the danger kasi is there could be an explosion if gasoline vapor that is expelled from the gas tank during filling up gets to the contact points of the distributor. luma na yung basis of this safety precaution, most cars have sealed distributors and some cars even have distributor-less ignition systems.

[yebo]

i saw that episode too, i think mythbusters was just lucky. it does not happen all the time, maybe 1 in 10million, very very low risk. there has to be certain conditions that have to be met, they did not meet those conditions me thinks. but hey, paano kung ikaw yun, with the right conditions? may nangyari na nga sa pinas di ba, so would you put your trust on mythbusters? one test by 2 crazy guys does not prove/disprove anything. if they did it 1 million times ok, pero a few times, not really. and remember the test they did was they had the celphone right beside the gas fill hole, too rich vapor/air mixture, won't go boom. you can even put a lit cigarete there, no effect either.

[explorer]

turn off but it has been proven in a Mythbusters episode that cellphones dont cause any risk at gas stations.

myth? the people in oil refinery plants (and gas stations) should know better than anyone else. gasoline evaporates at normal temperature (28 degress celcius) when exposed to air. that's the very reason why most 'tankers' deliver their loads of fuel to the gas station during the night time (aside from truck bans) is to avoid loses due to high evaporation by gasoline during day time. have you heard of exploding cellphones due to fake batteries?

[ian_rex]

actually, i'll comply. even if my wife and kids are inside. ok lang yun. for safety reasons. besides, one time, my diesel pick-up was accidentally filled-up with gasoline! imagine what a hustle it would brought me if the gasoline contaminated my engine? from thereon, i make it a point to turn off my engine when filling up. as for the mobile phone, the call could wait... whoever the caller maybe...