Running out of petrol

[jmh740]

So after a discussion with Oh yesterday can I ask how many times you have ever run out of petrol and how many years you have been driving.

Person A run out once in 25 years of driving.

Person B run out 4 times in 30 years of driving.

Person A thinks B is irresponsible and most people have never run out. Person B thinks 4 times in 30 years is not much.

Forty-three years and never actually run out but I did once have a VERY close call.😉
I was driving along and realised that the fuel gauge had not moved for quite a while and that the mileage on the trip (reset at every fill-up) was significantly higher than the usual distance between fill-ups. I decided to pull in at the next filling station but the car actually cut out just as I approached however I was luckily able to coast to the pump (in silence).
Filled up and luckily the engine started ok. My OH found & fixed a fault with the fuel gauge and it never happened again.🤞

Never in 17 years of driving. I do push it to allow the car to go into the red, but will then go and get fuel.

DH has been driving for over 30 years and I don't believe has ever run out. Certainly he hasn't in the 19 years we've been together and he's a worrier who never lets his tank go lower than 1/4!

I’ve never ran out. When I had a petrol car I’d top up as soon as it got to a quarter as I’d start getting worried. Have an electric car now and won’t let it drop below 20%.

Once about 33 years ago when driving my mums car (old banger) with a broken fuel guage!

Twice in 21 years. Both times when I was about 18 and a skint student and the fuel gauge had stopped working on my car. I was guessing judging by how many miles I’d done on the trip computer but my calculations obviously failed 😬

Got it fixed after I got a bollocking off police after breaking down the 2nd time literally 1/4 mile from petrol station I was trying to get to. Took the bollocking rather than a ticket x

40 years and not run out yet

Never. What’s it like when it happens? Does the car just roll to a stop? Curious!

I'm surprised at the levels of anxiety some people have about this. Never going below 1/4 tank, panicking if the light comes on. I know it would be annoying to break down but some people really live with high levels of stress don't they? I'm not sure I could cope with it!

Nearly 30 years and never run out (although did arrive at a fuel station with the gauge reading -5 miles once)

It’s nothing to do with high levels of anxiety. It’s called being responsible, planning and risk mitigation.

You never know when the day you only have 10 miles left in the tank is the day you end up on an 11 mile diversion due to an accident or the usual petrol station is closed.

Even my phone rarely gets below 20% if I can help it. I never know when I’ll be held up. I wouldn’t like my battery to die on a night out either.

Judders and then stops

Once, but my gauge was broken (someone had hit my car, but I didn't know it had broken the gauge) and it was telling me I had plenty, driving about 50 years. I always used to carry a can of fuel, just in case as well.

Or some of us might live rurally and a diversion could be a significant distance.

My car rarely goes below half tank. Road closures and diversions are too common here.

It's more being stuck in an a possibly scary place at night and waiting hours for a rescue, or having to get friends or family to come get you. The simple solution is to always carry a can of fuel, no stress, no anxiety, no panic. A habit from the days of fuel shortages when even if you got to a garage in time they might not have any fuel.

Edit: Of course if you only ever drive locally it's not a big deal. I used to drive all around the country for work and some places were not that nice to be stuck in.

You don't need to know how many miles you have left. When it's in or close to E fill the fucking car up!

I have never run out of fuel.

31 years
run out a few times, I am a professional fuel Russian roulette player

My DH is like this, tells me how many miles he should/might have after the tank is showing empty because they allow a bit....

It's go nothing to do with anxiety. A quick glance at the dashboard before setting off is all the thinking it takes. It is really no different than filling it up once the light comes on (or well after). It's not like I believe the world is going to end if I don't. But I pass my local petrol station every time I leave the house so it's really no skin off my back.

In my 50s and never ran out of petrol

EV now and haven't run out of battery either (though oddly worry about that much more than I ever did with petrol!)

Once, my first car in 1991! Never let it happen again & have always had a car since then !

I used to be perfectly happy running on fumes with an empty tank for the final 30 miles, but I don't like the EV to drop below half nowadays!

Lost my nerve or maybe because it takes longer to charge up to full again

I had an old car with an intermittent fault with the fuel gauge many years ago. I travelled with a petrol can in the car even when that one was long gone, just in case.

I was a late driver, so 15 years, but never run out.

40 years and never run out. Haven't read the thread, so don't know what the trend is

21 years and 0 times