Safety Tips To Keep In Mind While In A Gas Stations

Posted on 28 June 2017 at 03:23

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Good morning everyone, I’m back from a 4 day's vacation, I should have written blogs during those days but still too lazy to do it, I really don’t know, I am letting great opportunities to earn more slips away, tsk! tsk!

Anyhow my day start with a sad news coming from one of my colleagues, he shared about what happen in Pakistan few days ago. The news wasn’t that clear although it was about an explosion caused by a single person who smoke in that area which claimed around 150 lives.

I learned that oil spilled by accident (from a tanker truck) which was scattered in the area where people by curiosity swamped the place, some went there to take some free oil. And in a split of a second all of those people were burned alive, the accident was believed to have caused by a single person who smoke in the vicinity.

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Well, I may not get the whole picture of the story, but it made me decide to write about important things to do when you are in a gasoline station. It may not be a similar scenario on what had transpired in Pakistan but I find the need to be cautious enough in such a situation and of course same is true when you are also in a gas station where high degree of caution is also need.

I have seen news in the past about some blasting or explosion happened within a gas station which was caused by careless actions of some motorist and this should be taken into consideration by anyone especially motorist who are constantly visiting gas stations to refill gas, to keep away from accident.

Being a driver myself, I always make sure that I followed what has been prohibited when refueling at a gas station, and when sometimes I forgot something like turning engine off, my kids will always remind me.

So let’s go back to the main topic of this blog. I wanted to share to everyone some precautions we should take when we are in a gas station, especially when refilling gas to our vehicles.

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GASOLINE STATION SAFETY TIPS

1. Turn off your vehicle's engine when refueling.

I always do this I mean whenever I forgot my kids would remind me that means even kids know this simple precautions.

2. Don't smoke, light matches or use lighters while refueling.

Since I don’t smoke, this is not an issue, but I am annoyed with people who are very careless, not minding of what might happen especially when they have passengers.

3. Don't get in and out of your vehicle while refueling.

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These signs can be seen in most of the gas stations everywhere

Photo Credit: Google Photo via speedway

Please watch this video to know more why we should not get in and out from our vehicle when refueling.

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This is very important and I’m sure not everyone are aware of this. When you get in and out from your vehicle, a static electric charge can develop on your body as you slide across the seat, such that when you reach for the pump, a spark can ignite gasoline vapor.

So if you get out from your car and you need to get into the vehicle during refueling, and before removing the nozzle from your vehicle, you must discharge any static electricity by touching any metal on the outside of the vehicle, (of course you should do that away from the filling point), although in the Philippines, we are still practicing the old procedure of refueling, I mean there’s a gas attendant to do that. So this could be most applicable to areas wherein gas refueling is already self-service.

4. Don't use Cell Phone while pumping gas.

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Even if it's for important matter I used to refrain from using my cell phone while refueling is on-going, and when it's for emergency purposes, I should be away or at a little distant before I use my mobile phone.

I had a personal annoying experience lately about this although nothing happened (Thanks God!), but such ignorant driver has put our lives in great danger when he is using his mobile phone while the refueling is ongoing and even got out from the car and continue to talk over his phone standing just beside the car’s gasoline tank.

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This photo resembles much on what had transpired in the past with one of our company drivers.

Photo Credit: Google Photo via NY Daily News

I really don’t do that knowing that it is not advisable although if you must use your mobile phones while refueling you must follow instructions or better still, keep a little distance.

So those are the basic precautions that we should take while in a gas station to avoid untoward incidents that we might regret later.

Please watch the video below or click HERE for a more detailed Gas Stations Safety Precautions.

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The following are some IMPORTANT instructions that we should follow:

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1. To avoid spills, we should not top off or overfill our vehicle to avoid spills which could attract or induce fire when someone else is smoking nearby.

2. After pumping gasoline, we should leave the nozzle in the tank opening for a few seconds to avoid drips when you remove it.

What to do when a fire starts while refueling?

If a fire starts while you're refueling, don't remove the nozzle from the vehicle or try to stop the flow of gasoline. You must leave the area immediately and call for help. - NFPA

Take these precautions when filling a portable container:

Never fill a portable container when it is in or on the vehicle. Always place the container on the ground first. Fires caused by static charges have occurred when people filled portable containers in the back of pick-up trucks, particularly those with plastic bed liners. Removing the container will also prevent a dangerous spill of gasoline.

When filling a portable container, keep the nozzle in direct contact with the container. Fill it only about 95 percent full to leave room for expansion. - National Fire Protection Association

So why is the use of mobile phones at petrol stations prohibited? What must be the reason behind?

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Use of mobile phones may results on fire

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Although I am so much aware that using mobile phones while refueling is prohibited (under General Traffic Regulations) I admit that just like many others, I am also not fully aware of the reasons. Does using mobile phone will really cause fire or explosion?

At this point, we all should know that mobile phones are low-power radio-frequency transmitters, with a peak power value that ranges between 0.1 and 2 watts. The question now is that can they really have an impact in a petrol station?

I was a bit shocked of the answer, science says NO because of the fact that mobile phones emits very little energy. Does this excuse us or allows us to continuously use our phones at the gas station? My answer is also NO. Because a defective mobile phone battery could generate a spark which will or may eventually lead to explosion, that means its’ not really safe and that’s the reason why I will stop using my mobile phone while in a gasoline stations even if I am not refueling, and I recommend everyone to do the same. Even if they will say there’s a very low risk, but still I firmly believe that doing all those precautions is still better to keep away from any possible danger.

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