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Stupid behaviors at the gas pump

I am not an overly cautious person or angry person, but certain things get me going. Stupid people at a gas station get my attention immediately.

The reason being is that I saw a pump go up one time. I was driving by a station and a guy was filling up a gas can in the back of a pick-up. There was no ground and static set off the fumes. It literally blew the cap off the truck and sent him half way across the station. It didn't kill him but he was severely burned.

In the last two weeks it seems it is now is the time to smoke at the pumps while filling up.

Incident 1: I pull up and a let's just say a rough looking woman is setting on the edge of the island smoking waiting for someone to come outside. I decide to just leave and get gas later rather than start an argument. No gas was being pumped and I wasn't about to start. No harm no foul.

Incident 2: We are at a station and I smell smoke. A guy fires one up and walks out of a car, then proceeds to walk to the side of the station. Stupid but not in proximity to the pump.

Incident 3: Today I lose it. A guy is pumping gas and smoking. I am watching and he is trying to hide the cigarette, but doing a bad job covering it up. He finishes as I am walking over and switches hands putting the cigarette beside the pump. I know it's the fumes that ignite, but it is entirely possible to set the pump off.

I calmly walk over and explain my position, " Hey I am not trying to be an a-hole, but I saw a pump go up and it wasn't pretty. What your are doing is putting us all in danger." He didn't say a word and got in the truck and left quickly.

My wife told me I am too old to be fighting. I agree, I am too old to be fighting (certainly losing) , but sometimes you have to stand up.
 

oc_in_fw

Fridays are Fishtastic!
When I am on road trips and stop for gas, I will usually have a smoke- but not at the pump. I finish up and get as far from the pumps as I can.
 
I know what you mean. I worked at a gas station in the 70s, before self serve. I cannot tell you how many times I had to ask people to not smoke while standing there talking to me. They were always embarrassed, and no one ever gave me a hard time. Got my blood pumping!
 
How about watching someone pull close to a pump and flick a lit cigarette out the window so that it lands right near the opposite pump? Also issues with using cell phones around pumps.
 
I'm pretty sure Myth Busters debunked the whole cell phone thing correct? That is unless you are using the new exploding Samsung phone


<iframe width="513" height="315" src="http://www.discovery.com/embed?page=79447" frameborder="0"></iframe>

Like the video demonstrates, its definitely important to discharge before you pump, and dont get back in the car!
 
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I think New Jersey might be the only State left that still deems it's citizenry too stupid or lazy to pump their own gas.
 
I think New Jersey might be the only State left that still deems it's citizenry too stupid or lazy to pump their own gas.

Oregon has the same stupidity, but I do think those are the only two. I lived there for some time and that just floored me when I got there. I would on occasion cross over to Washington (when I was close) just to pump my own gas :). I don't know what the deal is. Repeal of that silliness has been up for referendum at least a couple of times, always to fail.
 
i live in oregon and beg to differ. pumped my own for 56 years and love letting a kid do it in the normal winter downpours. also it provides $ for a few people.
 

oc_in_fw

Fridays are Fishtastic!
i live in oregon and beg to differ. pumped my own for 56 years and love letting a kid do it in the normal winter downpours. also it provides $ for a few people.

Yep. Having been a driver in Cleveland from 84 to 92, there are some times when a full service station is just what the doctor ordered. My first job, when I was 16 (1984) was at a full service Sunoco. We did have a couple self serve pumps, and inside we sold smokes and cokes, but that was about it. The money was made in the garage. I think the smokes were less than $1.25 a pack, and the cokes were in a vending machine.
 
i live in oregon and beg to differ. pumped my own for 56 years and love letting a kid do it in the normal winter downpours. also it provides $ for a few people.

Oh, I understand some folks want the service, but why not offer choice to the consumer? Why force me to purchase something I don't want?
 
grew up in small indiana town. used the Sunoco to wash my brothers car inside. still detailing cars and my face 55 years later. Bought gas all over calif and our prices aren't significantly higher if at all. sometimes wish i lived in Texas (just kidding folks) or Oklahoma for their cheap gas. You are correct our politicians here in Or. are bothersome and burdensome,and boring so we will never have choice.
 
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oc_in_fw

Fridays are Fishtastic!
grew up in small indiana town. used the Sunoco to wash my brothers car inside. still detailing cars and my face 55 years later

I remember one of my jobs after the bosses went home was to scrub the 3 bay floors. Wet the floor, sprinkle out the pink soap, scrub with a wide broom, and rinse it all down the drain without even thinking about it. Ah, how times have changed (for the better). :001_smile
 

oc_in_fw

Fridays are Fishtastic!
Oh, I understand some folks want the service, but why not offer choice to the consumer? Why force me to purchase something I don't want?

True. The customers have chosen cheaper. I just wish there were some full service stations around. I ought to hit up Highland Park- god knows those people can't be bothered with such things. It might just be worth the trip (I am in Fort Worth, and hate driving to Dallas) just once to pull up, roll down the window, and say "Fill 'er up, and please check the oil".
 
I have finished a smoke while putting the pump in my tank before. I don't generally do it, but then I don't really stand there at the pump while it's filling up either. Actually, I usually start the pump then go inside and get my smokes while it's pumping.

It's actually pretty damn difficult to start a fire while pumping gas with a smoke hanging out of your mouth. I'd go as far as to say you'd almost have to be trying to do it.
 

Doc4

Stumpy in cold weather
Staff member
Oh, I understand some folks want the service, but why not offer choice to the consumer? Why force me to purchase something I don't want?

Snooki and The Situation ain't gonna be gettin' jobs as brain surgeons. Just sayin' ...
 
It's actually pretty damn difficult to start a fire while pumping gas with a smoke hanging out of your mouth. I'd go as far as to say you'd almost have to be trying to do it.

Why tempt fate? Gasoline is highly volatile, and unpredictable. I suppose the chances of the loud "WHOOMPH!" in St. Louis being followed by you landing in my front yard here in the Twin Cities is pretty slim, but I'd hate for it to be one of those "I told ya so!" moments. I'm not trying to come off with a "Holier than thou" attitude here, either. I literally shudder when I think of me and my friends playing and experimenting with this stuff in my father's machine shed when we were kids.... Uugghh....:facep:.

Don
 
Why tempt fate? Gasoline is highly volatile, and unpredictable. I suppose the chances of the loud "WHOOMPH!" in St. Louis being followed by you landing in my front yard here in the Twin Cities is pretty slim, but I'd hate for it to be one of those "I told ya so!" moments. I'm not trying to come off with a "Holier than thou" attitude here, either. I literally shudder when I think of me and my friends playing and experimenting with this stuff in my father's machine shed when we were kids.... Uugghh....:facep:.

Don


Well it's not like it's something I go out of my way to do. I have done it and usually I just forget. There is a smoke hanging out of my mouth 90% of the time. The vast majority of the time I don't forget and I put it out or leave it in the ashtray.
 
I have done it and usually I just forget. There is a smoke hanging out of my mouth 90% of the time.

Making no judgements, I assure you. In another thread, you say you work with natural gas. Not a good dance partner if you have a smoke hanging out of your mouth 90% of the time. Be careful.

Don
 
My dad caught a whipping when he was younger over a gas tank related incident. He went out to the garage to get the tractor out and couldn't get it to start up. He opened the gas cap and looked inside to see if the tank had fuel, but couldn't see inside. In what he described as a 'move that would make your grandmother rethink saving money for my college', he struck a match for light to see inside. The fumes inside immediately caught and started spewing flame from the filler neck. Eyebrows singed and red faced, he ran away in a panic.

His uncle came by a minute or so later and saw the fire. He took the gas cap and reinstated it onto the neck, thus extinguishing the flame. He found my dad shortly thereafter and asked him what had happened. His flame kissed face told the story. He caught a whipping from his mother later that evening, but it made good storytelling around the dinner table of how "K**** tried to blow up the garage".

Later, maybe I'll spin up the yarn of how "K**** and his cousin C**** burned the family car bridge" or "The Chicken Guillotine".
 
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