The volatile nature of gasoline is a potential environment for a source of charge to ignite within a close enough contact distance. Therefore, practicing safe refueling is the best way to protect yourself, your family and the assets you own.
Electrically charged objects are present around you. When you drag your feet on the carpet or change clothes during the dry season, electric rays are emitted. The phenomenon arises when two objects with opposite charges rub against each other. Although not directly harmful to the body, the electrical charge appearing at the gas pump can cause a lot of tragedy.
Even when you pump gasoline, an electrical charge is formed due to the friction of the fluid flowing in the pipe. But this amount of electricity is released immediately after a few seconds of gasoline being pumped into the tank thanks to the vehicle's design with a grounding power path mechanism.
However, this simple usage habit sometimes becomes a disadvantage when you refuel yourself with a can because the vehicle's grounding system is not working. Therefore, the safety measure for this operation is that you need to place the tank on the ground to refuel, thus helping the charge to be released easily.
Below are recommendations from the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for safe fueling procedures:
Always keep the tank in contact with the ground and avoid touching the vehicle when refueling. Absolutely do not pour fuel into a can still left on the vehicle.
Only use containers that have been proven safe for the type of gasoline your vehicle needs.
Keep the pump nozzle in close contact with the tank and ground when setting up the fueling process.
Absolutely do not use hand-held automatic pumping equipment because it increases the amount of charge and the risk of sparking.
Do not open the door to enter the car while the fuel flow is pumping into the tank and your hand holds the nozzle tightly until the end.
Especially do not smoke in any refueling situation or filling gasoline tanks.
Note that you are exposed to volatile fuel, so any unsafe behavior while pumping gas can have unpredictable consequences. Therefore, please be vigilant for your own safety as well as those around you when refueling.