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1. Older cars have points with a distibutor running around. It is possible to bet a spark from the points. The points spin around distributing the electricity to power the cables that create the spark in the spark plugs.
2. Not all people maintain the cars the way that they should. I have seen plenty of car fires from cars that have not been maintained. Also remember the old air cooled VW's? Low oil could cause those to burn up.
3. Cell phone use may not be the problem. The problem is that people will sit in the car to talk on the phone while the pump is filling the tank. Static electricity can build up when you exit the car. I only bring this up because people brought up the cell phones. Some researchers are thinking that maybe it was the static electricity all along that may have caused a fire, or at least the possibility of a fire.
There is that.
We had an event here last year where mom gassed up and went inside to pay, leaving toddler in the car.
A fellow jumped in, and drove away. He was tracked by the police, and eventually abandoned her car, stealing another. the whole adventure involved three or four cars jacked, one cop severely injured, multiple cars damaged, and the guy was caught, and convicted, and sentenced to a very long time in prison.
All because she left her engine running at the gas station.
The other thing to be cautious about is where you leave your purse. Many just leave it on the passenger seat with car unlocked. Depending on what side your gas tank is on it could be a very quick snatch and grab.
1. Older cars have points with a distibutor running around. It is possible to bet a spark from the points. The points spin around distributing the electricity to power the cables that create the spark in the spark plugs.
2. Not all people maintain the cars the way that they should.
I'm getting old because those cars (with points) are over 40 years old now.
Of course non points ignitions would do the same with the rotor/distribute cap. When the OP was posted I couldn't help but remember trying to trouble shoot an old bronco. In the day I was guessing but at night the problem was quite obvious. Opened that hood in the dark and it looked like a light show going off under that hood with all the blue sparks jumping from assorted sections of cables and spark plug boots.
At a later time, I did have a little fire puff up at a gas pump while sloppily adding oil directly out of a 5 gallon oil bucket. The oil ran down to the manifold and ignited! OOPS! But that's another story!
What snopes.com says about using cell phones while pumping gas: According to some experts, there is a danger that using a mobile phone near gas pumps could touch off an explosion, but not only have we found no real-life instances of such an explosion occurring, we don't know anyone who has demonstrated experimentally that it's even possible (including the folks at The Discovery Channel's Mythbusters program). Even so, gas pumps in Australia bear stickers cautioning motorists to turn off their phones while refueling; Shell in Malaysia has affixed similar stickers to each of its gas pumps; numerous pumps in the U.S.A. are similarly adorned; Canada's major gas pump operators have banned customers from using mobile phones while at the gas pump; and in 1999 the city of Cicero, Illinois, passed the first law in the USA banning the use of cellular phones at gas stations. All of this activity was in the nature of CYA cautions rather than a response to a documented hazard.
Best reason in the world not to go to only one source about a reference question.
There was a boat at a dock a few miles away that blew up while fueling. Of course there is no way to know if anyone was on a cell phone while at the pump. Only an idiot would use either a cell phone while putting gas in the car or keep the motor running while doing so. MY OPINION. And most of the time when I check on things, I find better information than Snopes. Who decided that this particular website knows more than anybody else anyway?
Best reason in the world not to go to only one source about a reference question.
There was a boat at a dock a few miles away that blew up while fueling. Of course there is no way to know if anyone was on a cell phone while at the pump. Only an idiot would use either a cell phone while putting gas in the car or keep the motor running while doing so. MY OPINION. And most of the time when I check on things, I find better information than Snopes. Who decided that this particular website knows more than anybody else anyway?
The Mikkelsons are known for doing the research to investigate items, and they do a good job.
I don't know that they "know more than anybody else" but they do know a lot.
Of course if you simply one-source all your information, you will never truly know everything about anything.
The other thing to be cautious about is where you leave your purse. Many just leave it on the passenger seat with car unlocked. Depending on what side your gas tank is on it could be a very quick snatch and grab.
It's getting to where you're better off locking your car doors while getting gas. A lot of stations have shady-looking characters hanging around and up to no good.
Best reason in the world not to go to only one source about a reference question.
There was a boat at a dock a few miles away that blew up while fueling. Of course there is no way to know if anyone was on a cell phone while at the pump. Only an idiot would use either a cell phone while putting gas in the car or keep the motor running while doing so. MY OPINION. And most of the time when I check on things, I find better information than Snopes. Who decided that this particular website knows more than anybody else anyway?
A couple boats catch fire every year here. Usually while refueling with the bilge pumps running.
also sitting back in the car while pumping will build up static charge. getting out to grab the nozzle mite ignite fumes.
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