MEP might know this as well, had someone at the pumps today, smoking in the car...told the person who was filling their car up to tell them not to smoke as its a petrol station...when they came in they said 'They're French...its different over there'.

Is this true? Are you allowed to smoke on the forecourts in France?

:whogives: They're French.

I would have told em off anyway, despite the fact it's a blatant safety hazard, your country, your laws, they're obliged to follow them

Even if they can do it there, they are in a different country with different rules.

bludvl_x19 said:

:whogives: They're French.

I would have told em off anyway, despite the fact it's a blatant safety hazard, your country, your laws, they're obliged to follow them

Click to expand...

Oh I still did lol, just wasn't sure if it was true or not.

I doubt it, as part of EU and probably as anal about H+S as we are. But of all the things that get to me is people's stupidity and smoking on the forecourt, and in the cars on the forecourt.

Normally a good bellow over the tanny with some clear instructions along the rough lines of
'Oi, you, yeah you, yep, Suicidal prick at pump #*, walk to the outer perimeter fence imediatly and extunguish your cigaret. Do not pass go and collect £200 and for gods sake do as I've just said and don't drop the fag to the floor where you are to try and put it out!'
(all slightly asadurated but you get the point lol).

Kier said:

MEP might know this as well, had someone at the pumps today, smoking in the car...told the person who was filling their car up to tell them not to smoke as its a petrol station...when they came in they said 'They're French...its different over there'.

Is this true? Are you allowed to smoke on the forecourts in France?

Click to expand...

smoking is big in le french land
i think they would burn down Paris if le government tried a ban over there

Saw a chap in France when on holiday a few years ago filling numarous plastic containers with sans plomb whilst puffing away on his little Galois cigarette

in the back of his van...


could the kiosk person care..... NON


message over the PA for future refference:

" Ne Pas De Fumier Froggie "

Andy Monty said:

" Ne Pas De Fumier Froggie "

Click to expand...

Or as one lad that was pissing about on my forecourt got (only late at night when no other customers about!)

"Feck off my forecourt you stupid sh!t"

There's no smoking signs on forecourts in France too. Never seen anyone try it.

I've a terrible habit of making a call while filling up and its only in the UK I've ever been shouted at over the speakers for doing it - sure, there's signs here but everyone knows its bull**** about it being a risk.

Cian said:

There's no smoking signs on forecourts in France too. Never seen anyone try it.

I've a terrible habit of making a call while filling up and its only in the UK I've ever been shouted at over the speakers for doing it - sure, there's signs here but everyone knows its bull**** about it being a risk.

Click to expand...

Against the law though, if you are on the phone and we dont stop you, we can get fined.

I love how people say 'oh I didn't know'...its been around for as long as I can remember.

Cian said:

There's no smoking signs on forecourts in France too. Never seen anyone try it.

I've a terrible habit of making a call while filling up and its only in the UK I've ever been shouted at over the speakers for doing it - sure, there's signs here but everyone knows its bull**** about it being a risk.

Click to expand...

Explain to me your belief of why your not suppost to use your phone on forecourt please.

Kier said:

Against the law though, if you are on the phone and we dont stop you, we can get fined.

I love how people say 'oh I didn't know'...its been around for as long as I can remember.

Click to expand...

:yeahthat:

Although worse than the fine is if a petroliums officer finds out. The last thing a fuel station needs is to loose their petroliums license

Just refuse to start the pump until they come and whinge at you, then you whinge back.

If someone is on their phone, shut the pump off. Speak or fill up, not both, matey.

Cheers

SPD

rallycinq said:

Just refuse to start the pump until they come and whinge at you, then you whinge back.

If someone is on their phone, shut the pump off. Speak or fill up, not both, matey.

Cheers

SPD

Click to expand...

I've had to odd person try and ignore me.

It goes like this.

"Pump 4, switch off your mobile phone on the forecourt please"

10 sec later finger hits 'stop all pumps' button. Particularly effective if there are alot of people filling....

followed by

"Pump 4, you've being instructed to switch your phone off, you've failed to do this resulting in Every pump on this forecourt being stopped! Switch of your phone imediatly please!"

followed once by some big geezer at another pump going "turn your ****ing phone off you d!ckhead, you've been asked once and now your ****ing up everyone else who's trying to fill up!"

Works a treat :devil:

Most Easterly Pandas said:

followed once by some big geezer at another pump going "turn your ****ing phone off you d!ckhead, you've been asked once and now your ****ing up everyone else who's trying to fill up!"

Works a treat :devil:

Click to expand...

Like it. If there was a huge queue in the shop I'd probably switch just his pump off and wait until he came in to complain, then explain in slow deliberate terms.

Cheers

SPD

I live in France, and no you're not supposed to smoke while you fill up. You're not allowed to smoke in bars either, which has meant the usual crowd of people hanging round outside the door. Only thing is I live in a tiny village where the bar is also the petrol station. I love the sight of the ashtrays perched on the tops of the pumps, right outside the door.

Oh and

Andy Monty said:

message over the PA for future refference:

" Ne Pas De Fumier Froggie "

Click to expand...

Translates as "No manure Froggie".

Most Easterly Pandas said:

Explain to me your belief of why your not suppost to use your phone on forecourt please.

Click to expand...

Theres a claim that it caused an explosion somewhere in the early 1980s. Try and get anyone to tell you where and they've problems. Theres a suspicion amongst electrical engineers that the real reason is that very, very old mobiles could cause interference to the electro-mechanical counters in old pumps.

I'd suspect the real reason its held on to is to try and reduce the risk of people spilling fuel by being distracted.

No modern phone has caused an explosion *anywhere* and if the possibility of static discharge from an electrical device causing one was that serious you wouldn't be allowed turn your engine on on a forecourt!

Its only a few countries that have ever put it in to law, also. Here hasn't...

edit: and a quick google finds quotes from Shell, BP and other major fuel companies saying there is absolutely no explosion risk.

Cian said:

Theres a claim that it caused an explosion somewhere in the early 1980s. Try and get anyone to tell you where and they've problems. Theres a suspicion amongst electrical engineers that the real reason is that very, very old mobiles could cause interference to the electro-mechanical counters in old pumps.

I'd suspect the real reason its held on to is to try and reduce the risk of people spilling fuel by being distracted.

No modern phone has caused an explosion *anywhere* and if the possibility of static discharge from an electrical device causing one was that serious you wouldn't be allowed turn your engine on on a forecourt!

Its only a few countries that have ever put it in to law, also. Here hasn't...

edit: and a quick google finds quotes from Shell, BP and other major fuel companies saying there is absolutely no explosion risk.

Click to expand...

You got the main one there, as to the bit about Shell, BP etc saying there is no explosion risk, I'd like to see where they've directly said that.

This is indeed no risk of explosion from signal etc, the risk is with dropping said device.

There is a surprisingly sizeable amount of the mobile phone market that consists of phones with some sort of metal casing on them. I know my blackberry has.

And as we all know, when metal hits the ground, there is sometimes a spark. And with fuel vapor being at ground level, this can cause a deadly combination.

It amazes me the amount of people who think its to do with the signals. I mean how many people use Remote central locking on forecourts. I know I do.

So that is the general understood reason for it. Like you say, reduce the distraction, and reduce the likly hood of it being dropped.

Most Easterly Pandas said:

And as we all know, when metal hits the ground, there is sometimes a spark. And with fuel vapor being at ground level, this can cause a deadly combination.

Click to expand...

Really? You're kidding right? What about my metal key-ring then? Or the keys themselves, or those Blakey's heal caps which used to be popular when I was 18.

One thing's for sure though, it's not to do with the radio signals, Shell has 200 plus telephone masts installed within their forecourt signs http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/2309645.stm and the signal coming out of them is far greater than that coming out of your phone.

I have drove onto a petrol station forcourt and forgot i had one on me. Window up, went into a carparking space as safe as possible distance and put it out in the car ashtray. Didnt get out of the car until i knew it was out... Never would i do it intentionally, no chance!

freeloadeur said:

Really? You're kidding right?

Click to expand...

Nope, although I also forgot to mention if the battery flys off when it drops, again, risk of sparks from the electrical contacts.

Don't have a go at me, this is what petroliums officer gave as the reasons when I was trained in 'forecourt compidence (sp?)' which not many forecourt workers are