Is it illegal to run out of fuel on the motorway?

[andy400]

Apparently it is in Aus/NZ, but I've never heard of it here. Mind you I've never run out of fuel either.

[MonkeyHanger]

Illegal on a German Autobahn too IIRC but not here in the UK.

It should be. There is no excuse.

[GreenV8S]

I understand that it's illegal to stop deliberately. Going on the motorway knowing that you won't be able to reach the next exit could be construed as stopping deliberately. I think you'd have to catch somebody on a *very* bad day though before you got prosecuted for that technicality though. You do sometimes see cars parked on the hard shoulder with the drivers trudging off petrol can in hand and they don't get swooped on by the BiB.

[cptsideways]

I've always wondered why they never signpost fuel stations near to motorway junctions, just as well we have sat nav now or sometimes your buggered.

[mrmr96]

MonkeyHanger said:

There is no excuse.

There are some excuses;

1 - You planned to stop at a service station to find they are unexpectedly closed or out of gas and you don't have enough to make it to the next one.

2 - You set out on a short journey but get caught in a long delay, then you'll use fuel idling but not moving forward much. (Yes, you _may_ be able to turn the engine off and on while waiting, but only in some circumstances.)

3 - Something happens to your cars system and it goes into "limp me home" mode, which is invariably more inefficient than normal.

4 - Faulty fuel gauge develops en route.

5 - CBA now, but you get the idea....

[Derek Smith]

cptsideways said:

I've always wondered why they never signpost fuel stations near to motorway junctions, just as well we have sat nav now or sometimes your buggered.

Is this some new penalty brought in since I've left the police? If so, do they ask for volunteers to perform the punishment? If it was the reporting PC then a look down the process list would reveal a few secrets.

[Gafferjim]

The problem is certainly being monitored, in our area, within 6 months of recording figures (and these were only the ones that HATO's dealt with) we had over 2300 vehicles run out of fuel. Now that doesn't take into account the ones that sorted things out themselves without a HATO attending their vehicle.
Some people are so ill prepared it's unbelievable, on a shift very recently I had a Lone female, disabled, unable to stand on the banking etc so had to stay in the car. Had run out of fuel,flattened the battery trying to start it so there wasn't any lights or hazards on the vehicle, it was in a poorly lit stretch of motorway, and it was in the early hours of the morning. I happened to see it on CCTV just by accident as another vehicles headlights illuminated it, we sent a HATO patrol to investigate, on arrival, this lady had no recovery, and no money.

Now that's not the best of pre-planning in my book!

We "thought out of the box" and dealt with it to the Lady's gratitude

Edited by Gafferjim on Saturday 23 February 14:41

[WildCat]

You should always think POWER before driving

mrmr96 said:

MonkeyHanger said:

There is no excuse.

There are some excuses;

1 - You planned to stop at a service station to find they are unexpectedly closed or out of gas and you don't have enough to make it to the next one.

But you should be checking before start off.

The old classics .. the Stag has a flashing petrol sign on its dash (this was one of last made... the other one in collection .. first edition does also have this feature.)

My car flash up big light on dash und the car's own sat nav will also warn me of low fuel und also of slippery roads too.

mmr96 said:

2 - You set out on a short journey but get caught in a long delay, then you'll use fuel idling but not moving forward much. (Yes, you _may_ be able to turn the engine off and on while waiting, but only in some circumstances.)

But you should still have checked POWER as routine und topped up tank.

You would have to be running on fumes to run out on idling.

mmr96 said:

3 - Something happens to your cars system and it goes into "limp me home" mode, which is invariably more inefficient than normal.

OK.. but this ist not running out of fuel

mmr96 said:

4 - Faulty fuel gauge develops en route.

But I have idea as to how much fuel my cars use und know when und where I last tanked up.


But I agree we should have more signs telling us "last opportunity to fill" before hitting the long roads.

[RichBurley]

WildCat said:

You should always think POWER before driving

mrmr96 said:

MonkeyHanger said:

There is no excuse.

There are some excuses;

1 - You planned to stop at a service station to find they are unexpectedly closed or out of gas and you don't have enough to make it to the next one.

But you should be checking before start off.

The old classics .. the Stag has a flashing petrol sign on its dash (this was one of last made... the other one in collection .. first edition does also have this feature.)

My car flash up big light on dash und the car's own sat nav will also warn me of low fuel und also of slippery roads too.

mmr96 said:

2 - You set out on a short journey but get caught in a long delay, then you'll use fuel idling but not moving forward much. (Yes, you _may_ be able to turn the engine off and on while waiting, but only in some circumstances.)

But you should still have checked POWER as routine und topped up tank.

You would have to be running on fumes to run out on idling.

mmr96 said:

3 - Something happens to your cars system and it goes into "limp me home" mode, which is invariably more inefficient than normal.

OK.. but this ist not running out of fuel

mmr96 said:

4 - Faulty fuel gauge develops en route.

But I have idea as to how much fuel my cars use und know when und where I last tanked up.


But I agree we should have more signs telling us "last opportunity to fill" before hitting the long roads.

Well, clearly, you are perfect then! But Mrmr96 made some good and valid points, though...

[WildCat]

RichBurley said:

WildCat said:

You should always think POWER before driving

mrmr96 said:

MonkeyHanger said:

There is no excuse.

There are some excuses;

1 - You planned to stop at a service station to find they are unexpectedly closed or out of gas and you don't have enough to make it to the next one.

But you should be checking before start off.

The old classics .. the Stag has a flashing petrol sign on its dash (this was one of last made... the other one in collection .. first edition does also have this feature.)

My car flash up big light on dash und the car's own sat nav will also warn me of low fuel und also of slippery roads too.

mmr96 said:

2 - You set out on a short journey but get caught in a long delay, then you'll use fuel idling but not moving forward much. (Yes, you _may_ be able to turn the engine off and on while waiting, but only in some circumstances.)

But you should still have checked POWER as routine und topped up tank.

You would have to be running on fumes to run out on idling.

mmr96 said:

3 - Something happens to your cars system and it goes into "limp me home" mode, which is invariably more inefficient than normal.

OK.. but this ist not running out of fuel

mmr96 said:

4 - Faulty fuel gauge develops en route.

But I have idea as to how much fuel my cars use und know when und where I last tanked up.


But I agree we should have more signs telling us "last opportunity to fill" before hitting the long roads.

Well, clearly, you are perfect then! But Mrmr96 made some good and valid points, though...

purrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!


But perhaps prissy Swissy

But it always about POWER und COAST.

You know your car.. its normal mileages before tank-ups und they all have flashin dashin' dashes which are all singing/dancing doo-dahs these days. :lol:


If you are planning to use motorway.. you tank up firsty and car get thirsty.


(Besides I learn to drive in Germany.. they progamme purrfektion By the way... am Swiss not German... und I drive according to condition .. especially when in Germany on an A/bahn.. :lol: )

[mrmr96]

WildCat said:

RichBurley said:

WildCat said:

You should always think POWER before driving

mrmr96 said:

MonkeyHanger said:

There is no excuse.

There are some excuses;

1 - You planned to stop at a service station to find they are unexpectedly closed or out of gas and you don't have enough to make it to the next one.

But you should be checking before start off.

The old classics .. the Stag has a flashing petrol sign on its dash (this was one of last made... the other one in collection .. first edition does also have this feature.)

My car flash up big light on dash und the car's own sat nav will also warn me of low fuel und also of slippery roads too.

mmr96 said:

2 - You set out on a short journey but get caught in a long delay, then you'll use fuel idling but not moving forward much. (Yes, you _may_ be able to turn the engine off and on while waiting, but only in some circumstances.)

But you should still have checked POWER as routine und topped up tank.

You would have to be running on fumes to run out on idling.

mmr96 said:

3 - Something happens to your cars system and it goes into "limp me home" mode, which is invariably more inefficient than normal.

OK.. but this ist not running out of fuel

mmr96 said:

4 - Faulty fuel gauge develops en route.

But I have idea as to how much fuel my cars use und know when und where I last tanked up.


But I agree we should have more signs telling us "last opportunity to fill" before hitting the long roads.

Well, clearly, you are perfect then! But Mrmr96 made some good and valid points, though...

purrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!


But perhaps prissy Swissy

But it always about POWER und COAST.

You know your car.. its normal mileages before tank-ups und they all have flashin dashin' dashes which are all singing/dancing doo-dahs these days. :lol:


If you are planning to use motorway.. you tank up firsty and car get thirsty.


(Besides I learn to drive in Germany.. they progamme purrfektion By the way... am Swiss not German... und I drive according to condition .. especially when in Germany on an A/bahn.. :lol: )

I agreed with you completely, that in an ideal world you'd always brim the tank at every oppertunity and therefore minimise the chances of running out. Unfortunately for us, though, we have to live in the real world. There's a balance to be struck in all things, and this is not necessarily practical. I was just pointing out that it's not inconcievable that one may run out of gas through bad luck rather than poor planning.

[Mad Moggie2]

I've always considered that "closing on the last quarter tank mark" to be the "go visit local petrol station" point.




Me and Wildy live in Cumbria .. off beaten track - nearest town Keswick. We tend to fill up at station in Keswick. There are a number of petrol stations around here which are NOT 24 hours - so it's handy to know which ones are open and when open.

Guess it's a case of planning but if either me or Wildy plan long motorway drive - then tank is filled to full at start of each long stretch. We call this common sense as cannot imagine worse than running out of petrol either on motorway or in back of beyond with a car load of kids.

[spikeyhead]

I ran out on the M3 a couple of years ago, about 11pm, cold night and I was lightly dressed.

My fuel gauge said there was a quarter of a tank still in there.

Managed to swill enough diesel around to get me to the bottom of the sliproad at junction 6 and strolled into Basingstoke with a petrol can in hand.

I was very very grateful to the bloke that stopped, took me to a petrol station and dropped me back at the car. Bunged him a tenner for his troubles.

Not a pleasant experience am am glad the the tdci has a trip computer, makes life much easier.

[streaky]

Derek Smith said:

cptsideways said:

I've always wondered why they never signpost fuel stations near to motorway junctions, just as well we have sat nav now or sometimes your buggered.

Is this some new penalty brought in since I've left the police? If so, do they ask for volunteers to perform the punishment? If it was the reporting PC then a look down the process list would reveal a few secrets.

You were in the job long enough to learn what truncheons were for, surely? - Streaky

[eldar]

MonkeyHanger said:

Illegal on a German Autobahn too IIRC but not here in the UK.

It should be. There is no excuse.

I very nearly ran out. Stuck on the M6 for 9 hours in midwinter, used a fair bit of fuel trying to keep warm At least I didn't run out of baby food!

[bluey1905]

I think we need a fuel level camera, we have one for everything else, and perhaps a fine for having less than half a tank.

[anonymous-user]

spikeyhead said:

I ran out on the M3 a couple of years ago, about 11pm, cold night and I was lightly dressed.

My fuel gauge said there was a quarter of a tank still in there.

Managed to swill enough diesel around to get me to the bottom of the sliproad at junction 6 and strolled into Basingstoke with a petrol can in hand.

I was very very grateful to the bloke that stopped, took me to a petrol station and dropped me back at the car. Bunged him a tenner for his troubles.

Not a pleasant experience am am glad the the tdci has a trip computer, makes life much easier.

How accurate is your trip computer ?

I've stopped with poor souls who said it say's 10 miles left, others who have 30 miles left, one who said it only lit up not beep like on the the last car, one in a hire car who thought they'd see how far it ran on red ,that's only a thousandth of the pratts i have dealt with, (last 2 examples were women, first 2 the cars were worth £20-£30,000 each),

How low do you have to be to run out on an uphill bridge before the services ?

But the award goes to the M56 incident Feb 2006 Exactly 2 years ago, ran out of fuel on slip rd driver ended up dead with 2 seriously injured Hato's, (check bbc website) hit by a hgv.

What do you think is the better option £100 fine/3 points to concentrate the mind or option 2. Hgv up your a**e end and dead ?

[Gafferjim]

Yes, or the ones that run out and stop in lane 3, or even lane 1! you may have difficulty getting across through traffic from lane 3, but surely they can coast to the H/S from lane 1...............

I've just counted up, and on my last late shift, we had 23 reported vehicles that had run out of fuel in our area alone, and again these were the ones that HATO's attended, or arranged recovery for, not including those that managed to look after themselves.

[mark69sheer]

Running with a full tank is inneficient...

You are carrying extra weight in the car reducing mpg

travelling with a nearly empty tank is fuel inefficient too as some systems 'noticably' in my PD diesel where I notice a slight lack of power due I presume to the system having more difficulty keeping up fuel line pressure.

Travelling half full is the best and means rest stops are neccessarily forced upon you.

A modern diesel can travel from Leeds to Lands end on one tank meaning a driver wouldn't need to stop. While that is good on a convenience level its poor on a driving standards level

[anonymous-user]

Daft anallergy but maybe the price of fuel doesn't help.

"I put £5 and i always get 30 miles from it"

"Yes but thanks to Gordons Grabbing and oil prices you now need to put £10 in to get the same amount of fuel"

"Oh i never thought of that"

As gafferjim states how dumb do you have have to be to run out of fuel in lane 3, he just forgot to add it even happens between the off and on slips as well .