Was I out of order for driving into the petrol pump in front rather than waiting?

[HappyPinkHare]

AITA? Just want to get everyone’s opinions on petrol forecourt / station etiquette in the uk. Two petrol pumps are placed one in front of the other, in single lanes, so if someone is in front of you refuelling, you can’t drive past them (you either have to wait or reverse). When I drove into the forecourt, a black car was in pump 1, still filling up and pump 2 (in front of them was free). So I drove up the other lanes and reversed in front of them into pump 2. I got out, opened my petrol cap, paid using my credit card a pin and lifted the nozzle. At that point, the lady came out of her car aggressively and told me to move out of the way so they could drive off the forecourt as they were in a hurry. If I was still in my car, I probably would have moved, but as I was already about to refuel, I asked why she didn’t reverse and go down the other lanes. It basically got out of hand and she was knocking the hose in my hand to stop me from refuelling and screaming saying “are you going to pour petrol on me?” Anyway, after lots of swearing and aggression (from both husband and wife) and me passively refusing to move, they ended up reversing (just one car length by the way) and leaving via the route I had suggested originally. It got me thinking that what I did (reverse into pump 2) was maybe wrong because why were they so angry, was i out of order?

She wasn't rude and entitled, she used her common sense and nous.

Sometime people take 10 minutes in the shop! Was OP supposed to just wait?

Yes it was a tiny reverse, literally one car length, early in the morning so there forecourt was very empty, no kiosk or pedestrians. A very large forecourt in fact!

they could have just reversed slightly and exited out quite easily

Don't ever underestimate @HappyPinkHare the levels of argument British drivers are willing to go to..... simply to avoid the embarrassment of not being able to reverse.

I've seen full on stand offs for 20 minutes, with all of us imploring the people in front to reverse a few metres back into a passing space, but no... they refuse. And then when it gets untenable? Ah, it becomes clear then - the person CANNOT reverse.

I think this is a classic example of where both the people in your story, and some Mumsnetters on here, seem to believe that everyone should have a clear path forward in their road journeys, at all times. No one should ever be expected to reverse, and if they're asked to, you're entitled to behave like a toddler as much as you want.

You did not "inconvenience" them, you used the petrol station as it is designed.

I would wager there was mild panic and indignation just to cover the fact they always expect to drive forward, and never reverse.

YANBU. They are, massively.

They get criticised for not reversing but then you think it’s fine to not to use any of the free pumps. You both could have done better.

If I was looking at a petrol station with one car in it and all the other pumps free and a car came in and reversed to be right in front of the single car, blocking them from going forward I would probably wonder if the person was doing it on purpose to antagonise them.

Obviously their reaction was unhinged.

They were by no means blocked in.

It says at the petrol stations near me to use the pump to fuel either side of the vehicle as the hose is designed to reach the far side as well as that closest to it

I mean, you were a bit of a twat, being unwilling to wait for a few minutes to fill up or use the other pump. You’d rather inconvenience them but they did over react.

@HappyPinkHare,
I worked in a petrol station many moons ago (fun claim to fame, I used to regularly serve Sir Beckham’s with his petrol and Kinder Eggs). This is classed as common assault and endangering safety. They could be viewed as intentionally spilling petrol on a forecourt which creates a fire hazard and slip hazards. Regardless of whether other posters think you were unreasonable or not to reverse into the spot (I would have done the same if people were faffing about). There are likely to act in a similar manner again and next time it could cause a serious incident. Please do contact the forecourt ASAP so they can escalate it to the police.

I don't manœuvre in front of other cars like this because of the possibility that, while I'm filling up, other car(s) will arrive and block them in. Their reaction was crazy though: your actions barely merited a quiet 'hmm'.

You were rude. Their reaction was slightly ruder. You should all grow up and learn some manners.

Standard practise. They were fruit loops.

Was initially unsure, but following the diagram - YABU.

Another car could have pulled up behind them OR the two free lanes may have become blocked if other drivers arrived and started using the available pumps. So at the very least you were happy to take the risk of inconveniencing them, while facing no such risk yourself.

But the more serious side relates to safety, and whether it's desirable for drivers to circumvent a clear one-way system by reversing around the forecourt. I don't think this behaviour should be encouraged.

The reaction of the angry couple was completely OTT, plus they missed a trick: they should have reversed their car, just like you suggested, then driven around and stopped in front of yours, to block you in out of spite.😄

Well they behaved appallingly but I really dislike it when people do what you did. It then means I have to wait around for you to be finished and get out of the way. It would have annoyed me a bit.

What you did was mildly annoying but an easily solved issue as other lanes were free - they overreacted where most would have just let it go as a non issue.

I've done it. It's not unreasonable. Hope the garage has the aggressive morons on CCTV.

I almost always stretch the hose across as it appears most vehicles have the filler on the OS so the LHS side of the pump is inevitably busy while the RHS is far less so. Often I can drive in, fuel up, pay & depart while others are still queuing.😁
Agree that on some vehicles it is impossible to fuel from the "wrong" side (our Moho for instance and my OH Land Rover) but for your average car it is usually not an issue.

Oh good grief, I've done this 100s of times!

Why would you think it wouldn’t annoy someone when you’ve said you blocked them in? It would have annoyed the hell out of me. To the extent yes I’d have said something, though i wouldn’t have been screaming or ranting. You should have waited or stretched the hose and used another pump.

Reversing at a petrol station isn’t particularly safe as another car could come in quite quickly.

why is your time more precious than their time? You wouldn’t wait for her but expect her to wait for you. I think you were rude and entitled. Obviously she was over the top in her reaction

I think it depends upon the design of/space on the forecourt. Most are spaced wide enough to allow you to drive past a vehicle in front to exit. Lots of people leapfrog someone filling their car and as long as the car behind can drive past when it's finished, I don't see a problem. If they have to reverse, then yes it could be irritating. Not that their behaviour was reasonable in your case.

Their reaction was completely over the top but it is annoying when people do this as you had no way of knowing if the other side of the pump would get used and block them in.

I have been on the receiving end of this and it is frustrating being stuck behind someone who has done this. When you pull up behind someone there is no guarantee they will be quick but they are usually at least somewhat through the act of fuelling up. I was in the situation where I had paid for fuel at the pump and was finishing up and was then blocked in and had to wait not only for them to fuel up but then go into the garage and pay and saunter back. Why was their time more important?

This.

they overreacted to your dick move.

there were other spare pumps and you chose to inconvenience them rather than just stretch the hose.

I would.

You were selfish and ignored common etiquette. You could have waited, you could have used another pump instead you inconvenienced them. Luckily there was no one behind them as selfish as you.

No, it isn’t dangerous. Why do you think petrol stations have signs saying cars can be filled from either side? The pumps have long hoses to facilitate this.