Emergency situations at petrol filling stations are not so uncommon. And for that reason, motorists need to maintain their situational awareness using Think 6, Look 6 whenever they stop to refuel.
Below are just four recent examples of fires, explosions or spills which occurred at gasoline stations over the last few weeks. These nicely make the point that drivers need to be ever-vigilent for danger - particularly where hazardous substances are present.
+ The first example occured on August 19 at a petrol station in St. Augustine, Florida. A tanker truck was delivering 8,800 gallons of gasoline, when fuel overflowed and spilled to the ground before exploding. The driver of the tanker truck was seriously burned.
+ The second example happened on the 1st October when a fire broke out at the BP Garage on the A120 in Bradwell (UK) and completely destroyed the petrol station.
+ The third example occurred when a man fleeing from police crashed into a Chevron Petrol Station in Davie, Florida on 6th October. The crash led to an explosion which destroyed petrol pumps and three vehicles.
+ And in the most recent example, a driver cashed her car into a Route 18 gas station in Bridgewater (MA), severing the pump and causing a small amount of gas to spew from the ground. According to local police, the driver lost control of her vehicle because of wet conditions.
The National Academy of Engineering and the US National Research Council have released the interim report of the Committee on the Analysis of Causes of the Deepwater Horizon Explosion, Fire and Oil Spill.
The report includes preliminary findings and observations on various actions and decisions including well design, cementing operations, well monitoring and control actions, management oversight and general regulation.
The interim report is available by clicking here.
The commitee's final report is due for publication in June 2011.