Letter to the Editor
Gas pump dangers
Published Tuesday, July 1, 2008
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To the editor:
The attendants at every gas station in Fairbanks need to get the customers to obey the warning signs at the station. If the customer doesn’t comply, then the attendant should contact the police and have the customer arrested.
I am tired of other people endangering my life because they fill up their vehicles while talking on their cell phone or leave their engine running. These inconsiderate people clearly don’t know how to read a warning sign on the side of a pump. These warning signs aren’t there to be disregarded. They are there to prevent fuel vapors from igniting and causing an explosion.
If these irresponsible people are too incompetent to obey the directives of a warning sign, then they should be issued a fine and placed under arrest for public endangerment.
Community Discussion
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I think there should be a sign on gas pumps "No wool sweaters!"
Static discharge hazard.
I jest.
I'm not overly worried about cellphones around the pump, but I have spied a few smokers pumping gas. Now that makes me nervous.
Remember when gas station attendants used to fill you up, wash your windows and check your oil? That would keep us safe, but cost even more.
There is a learning curve with the new signs on the pumps that are now mandated for consumer safety (and station liability maybe). Perhaps the person inside could shut off the pump if unsafe practices are observed?
No need to worry about cell phone use. I worry about the guy filling containers in the back of his truck.
http://mythbustersresults.com/episode2
Cell phones can't set off gas fumes, it's an urban legend. Check snopes.com. A running engine is not likely to set off fumes in the tank but letting your car run while you are filling it is a waste of money given the price of gas today.
A standard, old fashioned telephone can set off fumes if it is answered while ringing. Sparking occurs when switch contacts open or close. I think that's where the legend comes from.
Seriously, wearing wool sweaters or sliding across a car seat without keeping your hand on a metal part poses a much greater danger than a cell phone.
wow, funny, when has talking on a cell phone or a running vehicle ever caused a fire at a gas station?
Once again, instead of obeying the safety placards, we question whether they are true or just a nuisance. Unfortunately, too many people place others in danger because they don't care and think they know everything. I, personally witnessed a fire caused by a smoker at a gas station. You don't want to be anywhere near it when it happens!
You know what's really fun? Running your propane fueled weed burner while you fill it up. Boom!!!!!
As long as someone is on the phone or their engine is running the attendant shouldn't activate the pump for them.
And if they are smoking at the gas station they should be arrested, NO questions asked.They should make the fine so high that they will leanr their lesson. These people obviously can't read the posted signs at the stations. Maybe if they put them on their cell phones or handed the idiots a brochure they may get the message.
How about just arresting anyone who looks stupid? Please tell me of the last fire in Faribanks Alaska, caused by either an ideling engine, or a cell phone ? All the warning lables are there because too many mothers are sending thier children to law school, it has nothing to do with safety. Perhaps with the price of fuel we need armed guards to pump the stuff anyhow, and the City could require a license and collect more taxes to pay the firemen...
The urban legend about cellphones began because some idiot started a fire on a drilling platform and was successful in convincing management that it was the fault of the phone.
Note: Gasoline does not produce "fumes". Gasoline, as well as other hydrocarbon fuels, produces VAPORS. Fumes are small metal particles suspended in the air, most commonly produced by welding.
In order for a vapor concentration of gasoline to become flammable, there would have to be about 14,000 parts per million (ppm) in the air. Long before that, the immediate health effects would be overwhelming, resulting in nausea, vomiting and rapid loss of consciousness.
Not to say that one should not be careful around gasoline.
You are far more likely to cause a fire getting in and out of your car while fueling in the winter than from anything else even smoking. You will build up a static charge and it may discharge when you touch the nozzle which is surrounded by vapors escaping from your tank. To avoid this touch the metal on the pump after you exit your vehicle before touching the fuel nozzle.
shut your vehicles off??? come on lets think back oh say 6 months ago, -40 degrees, NOBODY shuts down their vehicles while filling up and what EXACTLY is the amount of vehicles burned up or exploded, seriously in the last 50 years, I bet its less than 5......
do you guys really think that your "safety speeches" will help the situation at hand? come on thats what this letter is about, if people can't follow a simple sign (or common sense) around the gas pumps what makes you think that preaching safety to them is going to make a difference? i'm sure these people are aware of the dangers they just don't care or think it won't happen. and do i really care if one thing is more likely than the other to cause a fire or whether the fumes are really called vapors? just use common sense and follow directions-the signs are there for a reason....
Cellular phones are not intrinsically safe (I hope I spelled that correctly). In other words, they are not safe for use in flammable or explosive atmospheres. If they were, they would have a factory issued green dot on the the info label that is visible. Nylon tarps, aircraft wing covers and plastic gas cans will all cause fires when gasoline vapors and static are mixed. Food for thought.
Isn't it the therory of natural selection that people will take themselves out of the gene pool through his or her own stupidity? Look at some of the recipients of the Darwin Awards.
"shut your vehicles off??? come on lets think back oh say 6 months ago, -40 degrees, NOBODY shuts down their vehicles while filling up"
I do. Your vehicle can handle being shut off at -40 for 5 minutes while you fill up gas. It's no big deal. You don't need to freak out about it.
yeah, if its written it must be true! People wouldn't put up a sign if it wasn't true. geez!
i'm not saying that every time a sign goes up it's a god given truth.... i'm just saying that there are rules for a reason. use some common sense shizzu
You have convinced me. I will now dutifully obey every safety label and sticker that I see. I will not climb more than halfway up my ladder, I will not drive my car on uneven or slippery surfaces. I will use a respirator and gloves when using household cleaners. I will always use SPF 100 if it is sunny outside.
Never mind, I made it this far with a little common sense.
To paraphrase: "It's no big deal. You don't need to freak out about it."
graceless-
there are also a lot of rules for no good reason, rules for intended good reasons but are bad rules, good rules for good reasons, bad rules for bad reasons...
It's kinda at the heart of jury nullification.
As 1st Chief Justice John Jay said: "The jury has the right to judge both the law and the fact in controversy."
But, if that is too old for you, I won't bother going into the rest of the history, including bad laws that were nullified this way. (Including Zenger--sedition laws).
The fact is, regardless of what people accept through ignorance, the people are intended to be the final arbitrators of law through the jury.
No law, to my knowledge, has been passed against this.
One should always judge the law according to the law, AND one's conscience.
WaitForIt, nice 'Mythbusters' reference. =)
Another appropriate Heinlein quote:
"I will accept any rules that you feel necessary to your freedom. I am free, no matter what rules surround me. If I find them tolerable, I tolerate them; if I find them too obnoxious, I break them. I am free because I know that I alone am morally responsible for everything I do."
[Note -- I usually don't smoke at the pump, talk on my cel at the pump, fill my rig while it is idling, or fill containers in the back of my vehicle. However, I reserve the right to do any of these things - just as much as I reserve the right to drink coffee in spite of the potential burning hazard!]
haha fbksgas-haha i like it.
hstkmtn..... You are correct. Myth Busters & Snopes have proven that talking on a cell phone will NOT cause the gas station to blow up. I agree about the plastic gas cans in the bed of a pick up truck is far more dangerous.
Maybe if we all had to PRESS 1, to read the warning signs on the gas pumps we would not see such crime before our eyes.
OK, maybe it's a good habit to get into by not talking on a cell while filling up. I think they throw you under the jail in Seattle for this crime.
My favorite Heinlein quote is "Always store beer in a dark place".
Thanks newsreader!
Part of the problem, though, is brainwashed do-gooders who think that if there is a rule or a law it must be right.
Then, this mentality of busy bodying being so acceptable; even if there is no harm apparent.
Then, to assist the busy-body do-gooders in their rule enforcing, a bunch of baby-boy arrogant cops--never mind if there is sense to it or not. It's the rule! It's the law!
All feel happy for the self-righteous!
I thought when the newer generations (such as mine and the youngers) came of age that this nonsense would end.
Instead, it seems to be getting worse.
If the "authorities" say so, it must be true and right...Right?
i wont name the station... but i once saw an employee standing near the pumps smoking a cig while someone was filling a 5 gallon tank....
Oh yeah-
So, if one follows Heinlein's good words of wisdom, (the rules one), and one doesn't obediently follow every stupid or pointless rule,
one is likely to be turned in by a "good citizen" and haranged by cops and courts under the Holy Cause of "public safety" regardless of the sensibleness of the rule or one's moral responsibility.
Speaking about safety- here's a tip that will make a difference for anyone who fills up. Stick the nozzle into your tank, begin fueling, and walk away.
Try to get at least five feet away, up-wind.
Why?
Vapors coming out of your tank while filling are highly carcinogenic. These are aromatic hydrocarbons like benzene that do cause leukemia and lung cancer.
If you really want to hover over your gas nozzle and breath those fumes in, go ahead. Its your life.
And, I am one of those weirdo's who turns off the vehicle not only when filling up, but also when going into the store at -40. Our air is polluted enough already. And hey, gasoline is over $4.00 per gallon now.
Be considerate of others. Some people live downtown and breath that dirty air.
Is there fluoride in our gasoline?
Wait a minute, I thought our number one thing we were supposed to panic about was GLOBAL WARMING. Maybe this is sign that as been proven the hoax that it is.
eat_or_heat --
Dang! Does that mean that I have to stop huffin' unleaded?
Bummer...
*chuckle*