UAE: Should you turn off your car engine while fuelling at a petrol station?

Petrol stations are an everyday part of our lives. As such, we may forget that they house highly flammable substances which can cause danger to motorists, station attendants, and other petrol station users.

Back in 2021, a video of a Saudi petrol station going up in flames went viral on social media. The cause? The driver of a car dropped a lit cigarette by accident. The station attendant panicked and pulled the fuel nozzle out of the tank, causing fuel to spill on the floor. The cigarette hit the fuel on the ground and burst into flames which engulfed the attendant.

There have been instances of petrol stations catching fire in the UAE too. Cigarettes are not the only culprits here; there are other practices that residents must avoid at petrol stations in order to ensure safety.

Local fuel retailer Emarat has taken to Twitter to warn residents about potential dangers at petrol station, and the rules to be followed to ensure motorists and passengers remain safe while surrounded by fuel.

In a video, the company outlined 5 rules to be followed:

1. Motorists must switch off the engine of their vehicles while the tanks are being filled.

2. Smoking always endangers people's lives - but especially at petrol stations. As we have seen, a single lit cigarette can cause the entire location to go up in flames, causing loss of life and damage to property.

3. A petrol station is not a race track - motorists must slow down to a maximum speed of 20km/h to avoid collisions with fuel pumps and other vehicles. There are also pedestrians such as attendants and customers walking across lanes in a petrol pump who may be in danger if speeding vehicles are around.

4. Motorists cannot leave their cars when fuelling them. This is doubly important when there are children in the car.

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