Keeping spare petrol in the boot of my car?

deltic_2

Picture this...

You are driving down the middle lane of a motorway, a truck on your inside and one right behind you (as they have a nasty tendency of doing).

You run out of fuel suddenly, your engine dies and so therefore does your power steering and servo (power) assistance to your brakes. Then...

The car in front of u slows down suddenly - can u brake in time ? or

The truck behind doesnt notice u lose speed quickly enough and ploughs into you ! or

You cannot change lane to pull over due to the trucks on the inside and you and your family come to a stop in the middle lane of a fast moving motorway !

Even if you can pull over, do you want to be sat with your family on the hard shoulder as a sitting target while you have to fill up with fuel with your back inches from the passing trucks ?

These are just a couple of illustrations of the fact that running out of fuel can be extremely dangerous. If you work on the principle that i've got a can of petrol in the boot so i can take the risk of running out - think again !

peter999

deltic wrote: »

Picture this...

You are driving down the middle lane of a motorway, a truck on your inside and one right behind you (as they have a nasty tendency of doing).

You run out of fuel suddenly, your engine dies.

These are just a couple of illustrations of the fact that running out of fuel can be extremely dangerous. If you work on the principle that i've got a can of petrol in the boot so i can take the risk of running out - think again !

This could happen to any car for any number of reasons other than fuel.

It should not be a problem if you & others are driving safely, although obviously that is a problem these days with idiots driving too close.

Have a spare can of fuel is like having a torch in the car/home when there is a power cut or you break down at night.

It doesn't take a degree to work it out, that things do happen like forgetting to fill-up or power cuts.

peter999

jeannieblue

peter999 wrote: »

This could happen to any car for any number of reasons other than fuel.

It should not be a problem if you & others are driving safely, although obviously that is a problem these days with idiots driving too close.

Have a spare can of fuel is like having a torch in the car/home when there is a power cut or you break down at night.

It doesn't take a degree to work it out, that things do happen like forgetting to fill-up or power cuts.

peter999

No, can't be right - we all know now via Moonrakerz and Deltic, that if we don't keep tank full all of the time then we are silly.

Picture this...

Full tank - reach destination. In an ideal world, cos there never are problems like accidents etc. and stuck for hours on motorways - above prob never ever go near the likes of the M25........... only us poor silly southerners.

scbk

If you're very low on fuel the engine should give you some kind of "indication" ie running rough/spluttering, hopefully giving you a chance to pull over.

But all it takes is a dodgy electrical component to instantly render your car useless

I've been close to running out before, like one time at night in a remote part of the country. The small petrol stations were either shut for the night or closed down, then got sent on a big diversion because of an RTA. Eventually managed to stumble upon a tescos and filled up with about 75litre (tank is 80 according to the manual)

vikingaero wrote: »

Have you lot never played Service Station Lottery on the motorway?:beer:

Your low fuel light has just illuminated. The sign says Services 1 mile, 16 miles, 32 miles. You ignore the 1 mile services, at the 16 mile services your gauge hasn't moved much, so you carry on to the 32 mile services. Do ya feel lucky punk? At the 32 mile services you decide to carry on............... :rotfl:

I tend not to fill up on the motorway but I have played this game with snacks/the toilets. You're just coming about to a services and think "oo, think I can just make it to the next one" :rotfl:

I hate pulling in when you're steaming along on a nice empty motorway (like the m6) :cool:

Stephen_Leak

RichyRich wrote: »

I'd reckon that following the HSE's advice/recommended limits would be reasonably safe. The HSE are not known for recommending unsafe practices

Which is why I posted the link to the HSE (IMHO, the only people who could regard a wire-operated Claymore anti-personnel mine as a trip hazard) site.

Wig

moonrakerz wrote: »

I really must apologise, I obviously didn't understand your modus operandi.

When I plan ahead, I plan NOT to run out of fuel.
You, on the other hand actually plan TO run out of fuel, hence the need to carry spare fuel all the time.

No you're so silly and stupid you still haven't got it. There's no need to carry one "all the time" only when there is a likelyhood of actually running out for the reasons I mentioned before. You are correct in that sometimes I DO plan to run out of fuel, That's the whole point of one of my reasons, regarding the other reasons it is not planned or unplanned to run out, just that there is a risk of running out, hence the need to carry a can.

How silly and stupid of me not to realise this !!!

Yes

Wig

deltic wrote: »

Picture this...

You are driving down the middle lane of a motorway, a truck on your inside and one right behind you (as they have a nasty tendency of doing).

You run out of fuel suddenly, your engine dies and so therefore does your power steering and servo (power) assistance to your brakes. Then...

The car in front of u slows down suddenly - can u brake in time ? or

The truck behind doesnt notice u lose speed quickly enough and ploughs into you ! or

You cannot change lane to pull over due to the trucks on the inside and you and your family come to a stop in the middle lane of a fast moving motorway !

Even if you can pull over, do you want to be sat with your family on the hard shoulder as a sitting target while you have to fill up with fuel with your back inches from the passing trucks ?

These are just a couple of illustrations of the fact that running out of fuel can be extremely dangerous. If you work on the principle that i've got a can of petrol in the boot so i can take the risk of running out - think again !

I would never deliberatly put myself in such a position, your arguement holds no relevance to me.

hartcjhart

Picture this...

You are driving down the middle lane of a motorway, a truck on your inside and one right behind you (as they have a nasty tendency of doing).

You run out of fuel suddenly, your engine dies and so therefore does your power steering and servo (power) assistance to your brakes. Then...

The car in front of u slows down suddenly - can u brake in time ? or

The truck behind doesnt notice u lose speed quickly enough and ploughs into you ! or

You cannot change lane to pull over due to the trucks on the inside and you and your family come to a stop in the middle lane of a fast moving motorway !

Even if you can pull over, do you want to be sat with your family on the hard shoulder as a sitting target while you have to fill up with fuel with your back inches from the passing trucks ?

These are just a couple of illustrations of the fact that running out of fuel can be extremely dangerous. If you work on the principle that i've got a can of petrol in the boot so i can take the risk of running out - think again


:rotfl: :rotfl:

BUT WHAT if the car in front is an alien spaceship that has stopped suddenly coz they ran out of petrol and if you dont give them some they will vaporize you and the family,

makes good sense to keep a can handy:rotfl: :rotfl:

Wig

scbk wrote: »

I've been close to running out before, like one time at night in a remote part of the country. The small petrol stations were either shut for the night or closed down, then got sent on a big diversion because of an RTA. Eventually managed to stumble upon a tescos and filled up with about 75litre (tank is 80 according to the manual)

I've been closer than that, as close as it was possible actually. I was making my way to a cheap petrol station to fill it up, running on fumes, I reached the petrol station only to run out of fuel in the petrol queue 1 car length from the pumps , had to push it about 3 metres. And of course I had my 5 litres reserve in the boot so I wasn't worried at all.

alibongo42

I'm almost sorry I asked now!

Thank you very much for all the responses. It has been very interesting to see both sides of the argument as to whether carrying petrol is safe or not. Some of your views were points I hadn't previously considered.

Thanks!