Public Service Announcement: Gas Pumps

This is just a little public service announcement. Something that happens to me far too often. I try to be patient because people don't know any better.

If you are pulling into a large gas station to fill up, and the station isn't busy at all (as in only 1 or 2 cars at a station that has 10 or 12 pumps), please don't pull up to the only diesel pump there is. Or if you do, and I pull up and park behind you to wait, don't give me dirty looks. It's the only pump I can use with my diesel car!

I never used to pay attention to this until we owned a diesel car, but generally it's only the larger stations that have pay-at-pump diesel, and they either put it on a pump at the end, right next to gas...



Or, it's in a separate stand all together in between the gas pumps. An easy way to tell is? Diesel pumps are always green, so they stand out. Either way, they are completely blocked off to me when you choose to get your gas there. Obviously, if the station were crowded, I don't expect you to avoid using an opened pump. I'm just talking about when I am one of two or three cars at the station and have to line up behind you, while all the other gas pumps are unoccupied.

Sometimes, this is the 2nd or 3rd gas station I've had to pull into in order to find pay-at-pump diesel (yes, I'm lazy and don't want to walk inside twice. would you??). I have a diesel car because I get better gas mileage than any other gas powered car, included many hybrids. Modern day diesel car engines are cleaner burning than other old-school kind and will help reduce our country's dependency on oil, as explained in this video.


Diesel may cost more per gallon, but that only works out to less than $2 per tank and I'm not going to trade 40-45 mpg for 25-30 mpg over $2. It might be inconvenient, at times to fill up, but we love our car and the cost savings is so worth it.

Just don't use the pumps on the ends.