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this post was submitted on 30 Jan 2026
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AssholeDesign
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In the US we have warnings on the pumps to leave your cell phone in your car, as they could somehow create a spark and ignite the fumes. Is that the case in the Netherlands?
Pretty sure cell phones don’t really cause that problem despite what the sign says.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2022/06/16/phone-gas-station-explosion/7490115001/
There are warnings to not use a cellphone, but probably more to cover all bases or to prevent people from getting distracted. It's mandatory to have hoses that catch any vapours and return them to the underground storage tanks, so it's very unlikely the concentration in the open air will ever reach a point where ignition by cellphone is possible.
Also all nozzles here are designed to automatically switch off when your tank is full, even when you keep pressing the lever, so I'd say even the distraction part is pretty moot.
The sign is because American fuel pumps bizarrely have locks on them so users can leave them unattended while pumping. In the 90s fuel fires were thought to be caused by users being distracted by their phones and overfilling their vehicles.
They have automatic shutoff valves tho.
European ones have locks as well, but they also have a sensor that disengages the lock when fuel level reaches the nozzle. That's what I've seen all over the world TBH.
American ones have sensors too and have had them as long as I've been alive.
Locks are illegal here.
Where is "here"?
Britain
"Bizarrely". Great feature and it doesn't cause fires. They don't keep pumping endlessly, you know--they stop automatically. And they are very much not locks. They have tiny ridges which can hold the pump handle in place but which easily come undone.
Are you talking about pumps from the 90s?
I was taught the problem with lockable handles became apparent in the 00's when E85 became a thing, as it ignites much more easily from static discharge than gasoline or diesel. Maybe I was taught incorrectly, maybe you guys had E85 earlier than us (Sweden).
Definitely not an E85 thing. Gasoline fumes will ignite very easily from any spark of basically any type of normal petrol. It's kinda' exactly what it's refined to do...
I was incorrect. The problem is E85 has no problem burning down into the tank, where a large pressure increase could make the tank rupture and a large fire break out. Petrol kills the fire if the ratio fule:air becomes too rich, E85 does not.
Do you have a source for that? Cell phones were rare in the 90s. Even then, they weren't "smart phones" by any sense - they were just used for talking. No text, no apps, no games. Cell phones didn't become common distractions until the early 00s.
Heat up in the drivers' seat, or just grab a pack of gum from the glove compartment. Enough to charge up statically and become a fire hazard.
America got addicted to “convenience”. TV remotes, fair play. But then they had to go too far.
I've never seen a warning to leave your cellphone in your car, but everywhere does seem to have a sign saying not to use one.
I've never seen one of those warnings, and I always use my cell phone. Barring a catastrophic failure of the device, how the fuck is my cell phone going to cause a spark? Sounds like a bullshit excuse to get you to leave your phone in the car so you're stuck watching their shitty ads.