If you own a mobile phone and a car to go with it, the chances are you have never done it. Using a mobile phone while at a filling station, that is! Right? Of course, who’d in their right mind want to be toast, asks mercantile executive Asanka Gunewardena who is quite graphic about the ‘imminent’ danger of igniting a fire in a filling station. There seems to be a general consensus that mobile phones’ magnetic field can provide that fiery spark. But Gunewardena, like many millions of other drivers, has no qualms about being on the phone while driving, despite the ‘imminent’ dangers involved.
What we have is a bit of a paradox. The same man who fears for his life restrains himself from speaking on the same mobile phone that he has no qualms about using while driving. What’s more baffling is he would break the law on one hand while on the other not doing something which the law has no problem with. Ever heard of somebody getting copped for talking on a mobile phone while refueling?
But now, let’s get down to the bottom of it. Has a mobile phone ever ignited an inferno at a filling station? On the evidence of research carried out so far, the answer is a resounding NO!
From the American Petrolium Insitute to the Australian Mobile Telecom Association, the answer is an assured NO. The media reports that the Australian Transport Safety Bureau which investigated over 240 filling station fires worldwide said that no fires were caused by mobile phones.
Believe it? Well, no one debunks the possibility of a remote chance of an ignition through the use of a mobile device but the majority of investigated fires were caused by static electricity. If you get out and get in wearing synthetic clothing which comes in contact with synthetic parts of your car, you may well build up a static charge enough to ignite a fire.
The moral of the story: if you are worried about your life quit talking on your mobile phone especially while driving and ok, while refueling. You may not want to keep getting out and in while at the filling station!
Watch out: Static electricity can cause a fire at a fuel station while a mobile phone may likely to endanger your life while driving.