Fueling up should be easy but often a trip to the pumps leaves me feeling more empty than my car was on the way in. It amazes me how I can find more idiots per square metre in the vicinity of a fuel station than anywhere else on my journey.
Maybe we need to include filling station etiquette in the driver theory test? In the meantime if you are the driver who goes in to pay for fuel but ends up on a twenty minute shopping spree while chaos ensues outside at the pumps, then you really need to read my dos and don’ts of fueling up!
| Don’t | Do |
| Speed in and brake suddenly at the pump | Drive in slowly and keep an eye out for pedestrians |
| Park your car so far away from the pump that no one can use the other pumps | Pull up close to the pump and make sure you can see the screen |
| Get stuck at the out of order pump | Turn off the ignition before fueling up |
| Hit the pump on the way in/out | Fill your car with the correct fuel |
| Light a cigarette | Close the fuel cap securely |
| Leave the engine running | Move your car where it can’t obstruct others if you want to go on a shopping spree |
| Let fuel drip onto you or the paintwork | Lock your car before going into pay |
| Go into the shop to pay and emerge twenty minutes later after a shopping spree | Wipe fuel off your hands and paintwork |
| Forget to pay | Pay up |
| Get locked in the toilet! | Smile and say thank you to the cashier! |
Do all that and you have just negotiated a very good trip to the fuel station.
Caroline Kidd