Filling Up With Fuel

Filling Up With Fuel

Ever filled a car up? have you watched someone else do it?

Easy you might think? but what are your responsibilities on the fore court?

Here at ‘RichMorrisDrivingSafe’ we want you to be confident when you pass your test, so we wrote this for you, we will have a chat about it on your lesson, incase you have any questions.

What we don’t want is for you to go onto a fore court after you have passed and be lost at what you should be doing, I try to at least once in your lesson let you have a go at filling up, however if you have a parent that has done this with you then great, we will just go over the responsibilities that you have!

1, Which side of the car is the filler cap? well if you don’t know there is an easy way to find out without getting out of the car. On your dials look for the fuel gauge, right next to it is an arrow, which way is it pointing? that’s the side the filler gap is on.

2, When entering a fuel station, do so slowly to give you time to select an available pump that is on the correct side for the filler cap. If there is a queue then wait patiently behind a car that you think might be done the quickest, TIP-if no one is stood by the car, they may be in paying, so leaving soon, rather than someone that is still filling up.

3, When you have selected the pump you are using, as you approach you need the car to be about a foot away from the pump and next to the back end, This will give you space to fill the car up, any further away and you may prevent a car trying to get around you.

4, Taking off the filler cap, when you get out make sure you take your keys with you, some caps need the key, others just need the doors to be unlocked.

5, Selecting the correct fuel, this can be a costly mistake and damage your car, green for petrol and black for diesel, if you put petrol in a diesel or the other way around, hopefully you will realise before you start the engine, at this point it is possible to drain the tank, but if you have started it then it becomes a complete engine flush. Both these need to be done by an expert.

6, Usually at this point in a modern fuel station, you will have a choice, ‘pay at pump’ or ‘pay at kiosk’, to do the first you will need to authorise payment by inserting your card, if its in the kiosk then they usually have to authorise it, so you would put the nozzle in the car and give it a squeeze, this gives them a bleep in the kiosk and then they authorise it, you will then need to go in to pay.

7, Fill her up, keep the handle squeezed and when the car is nearly full it will automatically click off, then gently squeeze the handle a centimetre so the fuel comes out slowly and at the second click its full.

If you only want to put in a certain amount then as the price gets about 50 pence away from your target ease the pressure on handle, slowly squeeze until you get your price.

8, Take out the pump slowly rotating it clockwise, then keep it upwards as not to drip on you, place back in the holder, close your fuel cap, job done.

9, If you spill fuel, it is your responsibility to put sand on it, there are buckets of sand either next to the pumps or the kiosk, just a light sprinkle to soak it up, if you have it on your car I would get some tissues and wipe it off, if you have it on yourself then don’t light any flames for god sake, back in the car keep a window open for ventilation and get a change of cloths quickly.

10, If you are paying in the kiosk make sure you lock your car while you are inside, don’t leave anything valuable in sight, if its pay at pump, collect your receipt and off you go.

11, When leaving the fuel pump, look all around you for people moving and cars, slowly leave following any exit signs.

Well done you have learned how to fill the car up.