Minibuses and petrol stations....

[MovingIn07]

What is the deal with minibuses and petrol stations! Is it actually legal for them to go and fill up while full of people? The one that did it to me today didn't even turn his engine off while filling up! Surely that's got to be against the law? Why on earth he was served with a running engine is beyond me ... is that normal here? Is there anywhere I can complain about this?

[daveross]

The risk of generating spark at the time the engine is started is higher than generating spark when the engine is in operation. That said, I tend to turn off the engine because it's not helping the environment to keep it running.

[daveross]

You're more likely to cause a fire with a static charge from your hand. Not sure what fuel injection has to do with it... will the car get fuel faster when you accelerate. Are you accelerating while parked? It's about sparks.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmbdaBqCLBY"]YouTube- Fire at the Gas Pump - Caught on Tape[/ame]

[PDLM]

Folks - minibuses run either on diesel or LPG. I assume in this case it was diesel. Diesel is far, far less volatile than petrol, and also tends to be far grubbier. Most if not all of the observations above apply to petrol engines and are irrelevant here.

Minibuses are regulated by the Transport Department:

Transport Complaints Unit Complaint Hotline (Voice mail service after office hours): (852) 2889 9999

[MovingIn07]

Third attempt at this post ... my first two refused to load because the "token had expired" whatever the heck that means.

THANKS PDLM - I knew there was such a complaints service as I have used it before, but no amount of searching through the government websites yielded an address - but using your precise words above did.

Re the bus - it was a GREEN minibus so yes it is regulated.

It was diesel yes, but 1) I have had similar experience with an LPG-fuelled minibus, full of passengers using mobile phones and 2) the petrol station sold more than just diesel, so I presume a spark could ignite any customer filling up!

[PDLM]

You might find this page helpful: snopes.com: Cell Phone Use at Gas Pump

[Raccon]

The risk of generating spark at the time the engine is started is higher than generating spark when the engine is in operation.

It's not a risk, it's a given - or what do spark plugs do if not generate sparks?

By the time you start the engine the fuel hose has hopefully been removed, as opposed to running the engine while filling it up, so perhaps the idea of shutting off the engine has something to do with that ...

[MovingIn07]

You might find this page helpful: snopes.com: Cell Phone Use at Gas Pump

Cellphone use is banned at petrol stations in Australia and New Zealand. I assume somebody did something other than an internet search before doing this.

[PDLM]

Cellphone use is banned at petrol stations in Australia and New Zealand. I assume somebody did something other than an internet search before doing this.

You too have become a victim of government by fear. Frankly that surprises me. Do you love airport security theatre because you believe it must make a difference because the American government says so?

[Raccon]

Cellphone use is banned at petrol stations in Australia and New Zealand. I assume somebody did something other than an internet search before doing this.

Let's see it then.

To be fair I should however point out that firemen often use communication devices that are rated according to the ATEX directive. Not sure though if your standard gas station qualifies as 'explosive atmosphere'.