Why do people queue at petrol stations?

[TimJMS]

I wouldn't know anymore!

[TooMany2cvs]

Munter said:

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@52.6295439,-2.12613...

Take the above petrol station. There is one car at every pump. There is a car stopped over the manhole at the entrance waiting to see which pump becomes free.

<scratches head>
No, there isn't. Half the pumps are free, and there's no stationary car...

[BL Fanboy]

When I had my series 3 XJ6 with the dual tanks, it was dead easy to fill from both sides which was just as well really considering how often I had to visit the pumps.

[Munter]

TooMany2cvs said:

Munter said:

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@52.6295439,-2.12613...

Take the above petrol station. There is one car at every pump. There is a car stopped over the manhole at the entrance waiting to see which pump becomes free.

<scratches head>
No, there isn't. Half the pumps are free, and there's no stationary car...

Hillarious

<----- That way to the lounge

[DrDoofenshmirtz]

I genuinely read the OP and thought 'I bet he drives a BMW'...

This isn't the first time...in fact, whenever there is a cock'ish thread - it's usually started by a BMW driver.

I feel sorry for BMW drivers who aren't cocks...but seriously, The stereotype won't die until you guys sort yourselves out.

[Osinjak]

DrDoofenshmirtz said:

I genuinely read the OP and thought 'I bet he drives a BMW'...

This isn't the first time...in fact, whenever there is a cock'ish thread - it's usually started by a BMW driver.

I feel sorry for BMW drivers who aren't cocks...but seriously, The stereotype won't die until you guys sort yourselves out.

Nice try. I was in my wife's 18 year old MX5.

[DrDoofenshmirtz]

Osinjak said:

DrDoofenshmirtz said:

I genuinely read the OP and thought 'I bet he drives a BMW'...

This isn't the first time...in fact, whenever there is a cock'ish thread - it's usually started by a BMW driver.

I feel sorry for BMW drivers who aren't cocks...but seriously, The stereotype won't die until you guys sort yourselves out.

Nice try. I was in my wife's 18 year old MX5.

I had a feeling you would be, I guess the mindset was still there.

[Osinjak]

DrDoofenshmirtz said:

I had a feeling you would be, I guess the mindset was still there.

Of course it was old boy, of course it was.

[anonymous-user]

Osinjak said:

DrDoofenshmirtz said:

I genuinely read the OP and thought 'I bet he drives a BMW'...

This isn't the first time...in fact, whenever there is a cock'ish thread - it's usually started by a BMW driver.

I feel sorry for BMW drivers who aren't cocks...but seriously, The stereotype won't die until you guys sort yourselves out.

Nice try. I was in my wife's 18 year old MX5.

Bit of a fail there for the Dr!

[Munter]

DrDoofenshmirtz said:

I genuinely read the OP and thought 'I bet he drives a BMW'...

This isn't the first time...in fact, whenever there is a cock'ish thread - it's usually started by a BMW driver.

I feel sorry for BMW drivers who aren't cocks...but seriously, The stereotype won't die until you guys sort yourselves out.

So given my scenario above. You would stop in the road blocking one lane of traffic, rather than drive around someone and queue in the large empty space on the forecourt? Because you think blocking the road for no good reason doesn't make you look like a cock, but using the forecourt as intended you think makes people a cock.

[FussyFez]

Lmao at this thread.

I'm with the OP. This is actually a pet hate of mine.

Queuing for a pump doesnt mean stopping an inch behind the car already at the pump. Stop half a car length back so you can drive around it if a different pump becomes available.

Why would you ever stop just off the road, miles back from all the pumps, blocking the entrance and causing a tail back onto the road?


Drive past and look at them disaprovingly whilst filling up.

Idiots.

[TroubledSoul]

I'm with the OP too. It's unreasonable to block up the road when there is space on the forecourt and it's something g usually done by numpties.

The more annoying thing for me is when you go into a station that only has Super on the rear pumps. The whole line frees up but you stop at the rear pump and effectively render the others in the row unusable until you've finished.

None of the people giving you dirty looks etc. ever seem to click on that you're not doing it to be an arse.

[Mr2Mike]

DrDoofenshmirtz said:

I genuinely read the OP and thought 'I bet he drives a BMW'...

This isn't the first time...in fact, whenever there is a cock'ish thread - it's usually started by a BMW driver.

I feel sorry for BMW drivers who aren't cocks...but seriously, The stereotype won't die until you guys sort yourselves out.

So you are in favour of a single long queue for all pumps which tails back and clogs up the road. What do you believe is the problem with queuing in front of a line of pumps?

4rephill said:

Wow! - I'm so glad My life is not so time sensitive that I can't wait for a minute or in a queue!

Hang on, are people actually reading the OP correctly? This thread is not about trying to avoid queues, it's about queuing intelligently to avoid clogging up the road leading to the petrol station.

okie592 said:

It's not the length of the hose, it's that you have to put it in upside down and it fits as it would if your on the right side,

Don't really understand this, why do you have to put the filler in upside down? I regularly use pumps from the "wrong" side, and provided you park correctly (i.e. close enough to the pump and further forward than normal) there is plenty enough hose to be able use the filler the right way up.

Edited by Mr2Mike on Monday 20th October 12:26

[matty6660]

Osinjak said:

Seriously, why? You know the ones, petrols station is busy and yet some complete mong, rather than just finding a pump to sit behind, sits in the entrance to the fuel station waiting for the next free pump. Twice today I've driven round these fking idiots and waited at a pump to fuel up. No grief, just full on stares (powerfully built fridge thrower and all that) but I just cannot understand people sometimes, just fking get on with it!

I agree with the OP. If all pumps are being used, I just choose one and sit behind the car in front and wait, rather than queuing on the road and blocking the road for cars who don't want to use the petrol station at all. Usually people don't take more than about 5 minutes to full up and pay so it's not the end of the world if a different pump becomes free before yours. The queue dies down quicker if you choose and pump and sit behind it rather than queuing at the entrance.

Edited by matty6660 on Monday 20th October 17:43

[AvonRise]

matty6660 said:

The queue dies down quicker if you choose and pump and sit behind it

Mathematically speaking, it doesn't.

A single queue is always more efficient than multiple queues when you look at average queueing time.

All you're doing is making one longer queue into several shorter ones.

[HTP99]

My place of work is situated opposite a Shell garage and part of our forecourt shares this Shell garage, when I'm bored I take great delight in watching people who frequent the petrol station; you think that people are bad enough on the roads, the majority turn into complete and utter cretins the moment they decide that they need fuel.

• Queueing at the entrance and causing jams on the road as far back as the roundabout a few hundred metres up the road when there is plenty of space to queue at a pump, as per the OP's issue.
• Dumping their car in the middle of the forecourt, not getting any fuel but they want to get something in the shop, thus blocking a couple of free pumps.
• Dumping their car in the middle of the through road that goes round the back of the garage to go and buy something, this blocking three rights of way.
• Dumping their car in the clearing signed exit of the car wash so that they can go to the shop to buy something this blocking anyone who is I the car wash.
• Being too impatient to wait so they drive over the huge kerb to get away, after they have paid of their fuel and getting the car stuck on said kerb.
• When there is a fuel delivery the pumps get coned off and the garage temporarily shuts for fuel sales, this however doesn't stop people driving up, stopping, then getting out of the car and moving the cones and pulling up to a pump and then getting all stty when they are told there is temporarily no fuel due to the delivery.
• People driving out of the car wash and parking across the 4 clearly marked parking bats that we have, getting out of the car to wander over to a pump to get some tissue so that they wipe the drips off their car and then when I politely ask them to move their car from blocking all 4 clearly marked bays, somehow I'm the (insert swear word hear).
• I've seen people actually drive into the pumps, damaging both their car and the pumps.
• Fights, men actually starting fights with women.
• A few weeks ago someone actually dumped their 8 odd year old daughter there and drove off, daughter understandably was in tears.

It is a real eye opener some peoples behaviour.

[okie592]

delboy735 said:

What ???? I drive a Seat Leon ( like a Golf but better looking ) and I regularly fill up from the wrong side with no issue whatsoever.....and I've been doing it for years, not just since many pumps have extra long hoses.
I'm with the OP by the way. Simply drive up to your chosen pump and wait...in my case it doesn't matter which side

this is a mk6 golf, may well be different from the leon you have

[daemon]

okie592 said:

delboy735 said:

What ???? I drive a Seat Leon ( like a Golf but better looking ) and I regularly fill up from the wrong side with no issue whatsoever.....and I've been doing it for years, not just since many pumps have extra long hoses.
I'm with the OP by the way. Simply drive up to your chosen pump and wait...in my case it doesn't matter which side

this is a mk6 golf, may well be different from the leon you have

You mean that you cant just look at your own experience and apply that to everyone elses situation irrespective?

Thats going to come as a shocker to some people on here....

[Baz Tench]

I totally agree with the OP. I'm surprised that some posters in this thread are sticking up for these people, it's bloody annoying when it occurs.

It happened to me today. A middle-aged woman held the entire forecourt up whilst she waited for a particular pump to become available. A few of us did drive around her in the end as there were a few free.

It was the Tesco forecourt in Rugby if anyone knows it. It's not the biggest and cars tend to queue in single file.

[feef]

SonicShadow said:

daemon said:

TooMany2cvs said:

daemon said:

A lot of the hoses i've seen dont reach over from above, they come from out of the pump itself.

Still PLENTY long enough to reach around the average car.

Sure, there are instances where you can't fill from the wrong side - a van, f'rinstance, where the filler is behind the front door - but for 90+ of vehicles in the average filling station? Dead easy. IF you engage brain. Which, of course, is the usual problem.

They're designed to retract automatically so you're going to struggle to not have them hit your bodywork.

Run it under the rear bumper, behind the wheels. It's plenty long enough.

Your paint is softer than rubber!??