Post by Zadkiel on Apr 7, 2016 12:59:30 GMT
You have probably seen the warning signs at the fuel station pumps forbidding you to use your mobile. You may have even been shouted at by one of the attendants. Despite the fear, there has never been one single event where a mobile has caused a petrol station fire as they have virtually no capacity to do so.
A hoax report appears to be the cause of this myth, where three incidents of fires caused by mobiles were sent to Shell and then erroneously passed around the company. In reality, not one mobile has been the fire starter. There have been numerous studies and tests that all came up with this same conclusion. Even Mythbusters tried their hardest and failed.
The worry comes from the idea a phone battery could cause a spark — something you don't want around flammable liquid. However, unless the battery was inexplicably faulty, mobile batteries do not spark, so this won't happen. If safety boards were worried about batteries near the pumps, what about that massive one sitting under your car bonnet? The more likely cause of petrol station fires come from a build up in static electricity, often from the material from the seat as you exit the car.
A hoax report appears to be the cause of this myth, where three incidents of fires caused by mobiles were sent to Shell and then erroneously passed around the company. In reality, not one mobile has been the fire starter. There have been numerous studies and tests that all came up with this same conclusion. Even Mythbusters tried their hardest and failed.
The worry comes from the idea a phone battery could cause a spark — something you don't want around flammable liquid. However, unless the battery was inexplicably faulty, mobile batteries do not spark, so this won't happen. If safety boards were worried about batteries near the pumps, what about that massive one sitting under your car bonnet? The more likely cause of petrol station fires come from a build up in static electricity, often from the material from the seat as you exit the car.
