The dangers of driving with low fuel
We have all played roulette with our petrol at some point during our driving days, trying to test how many miles we really can get from a tank, and it turns out that every year over 800,000 people play that game, and lose.
A survey was released on August 27 by an insurance company that showed a quarter of drivers believe that when the petrol warning light comes on, they still have about 40 miles in the tank. It also showed that in the hope to find cheaper petrol, almost two million drive with the warning light on regularly. But do you know the real dangers of driving with little fuel in the tank?
Okay there is the breakdown scenario when you have run completely out, but there are hidden dangers that can cause all sorts of problems with your car if you constantly let the tank run to empty.
Diesel cars fare a lot worse in this as well. If you let the diesel run low a lot, then you are risking damage to your engine, the pipes and seals in the car can all be damaged, and that bill would be in the thousands of pounds if you had to get it repaired.
Doing the same to a petrol car will still cause an extensive amount of damage, but because of the parts in a diesel car, it is a lot more expensive to fix.
Newer cars are a lot more sensitive as well. The last 10% of a fuel tank has sediment in it, and it will clog up the filters a lot easier on a newer model.
Let’s go back to the breakdown scenario again. You are driving down the motorway with the petrol light flashing, hoping you can inch a few more miles to get home when the steering locks, the engine fails, and your brakes stop being as responsive as they normally are. What then? If you are lucky, you will be able to roll the car onto the hard shoulder. But what if you are in the middle or outside lane? It could cause a potentially nasty crash, so not only are you risking your life, but the lives of other drivers as well.
So although it may seem like a good idea to push the car the extra miles for cheaper fuel, ask yourself is it really worth the damages costs, and is it worth risking your life?
A survey was released on August 27 by an insurance company that showed a quarter of drivers believe that when the petrol warning light comes on, they still have about 40 miles in the tank. It also showed that in the hope to find cheaper petrol, almost two million drive with the warning light on regularly. But do you know the real dangers of driving with little fuel in the tank?
Okay there is the breakdown scenario when you have run completely out, but there are hidden dangers that can cause all sorts of problems with your car if you constantly let the tank run to empty.
Diesel cars fare a lot worse in this as well. If you let the diesel run low a lot, then you are risking damage to your engine, the pipes and seals in the car can all be damaged, and that bill would be in the thousands of pounds if you had to get it repaired.
Doing the same to a petrol car will still cause an extensive amount of damage, but because of the parts in a diesel car, it is a lot more expensive to fix.
Newer cars are a lot more sensitive as well. The last 10% of a fuel tank has sediment in it, and it will clog up the filters a lot easier on a newer model.
Let’s go back to the breakdown scenario again. You are driving down the motorway with the petrol light flashing, hoping you can inch a few more miles to get home when the steering locks, the engine fails, and your brakes stop being as responsive as they normally are. What then? If you are lucky, you will be able to roll the car onto the hard shoulder. But what if you are in the middle or outside lane? It could cause a potentially nasty crash, so not only are you risking your life, but the lives of other drivers as well.
So although it may seem like a good idea to push the car the extra miles for cheaper fuel, ask yourself is it really worth the damages costs, and is it worth risking your life?
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