More than 10 million drivers in the UK are ‘driving on an empty tank’ | Driving

An incredible 10.3 million drivers admit that they drive the tank as empty as possible before refueling.

This naturally means that these so-called “red line runners” are at an increased risk of running out of gas – 7 out of 10 drivers admitted last year alone that they had actually run out of gas.

This practice is also increasing: one in four drivers admits that they are more likely to drive as close as possible to the warning light before refuelling than they were two years ago.

In fact, more drivers are now setting their own fuel budgets, and 15% of drivers admit to having taken the risk of running out of petrol while looking for a cheaper petrol station than the one they initially found.

Green Flag, which conducted the survey, would now like to point out that there are other risks involved in running a red light that go beyond the dangers of running a red light.

This includes damage to the engine itself as dirt from the bottom of the fuel tank gets into the fuel pump and filter.

In addition, when a diesel engine is low on fuel, the fuel pump may pump air through the system instead of fuel. In this case, your engine will shut down and will not restart until the air is removed. Additionally, bleeding the fuel system can be a complex process.

There are also the dangers of fuel consumption, such as a sudden power outage at a busy intersection and possible effects on the brakes and power steering. Such behavior should be avoided at all costs.

“Drivers also face fines and points on their license if the breakdown is due to careless driving,” says Katie Lomas, managing director of Green Flag.

Rule 97 of the Highway Code states that drivers “must ensure that they have sufficient fuel or cargo for the journey, particularly when the journey is on a motorway”.

“People often overestimate how far they can drive when the fuel warning light comes on, so it’s probably best not to drive into the red zone if possible, especially where there are few fuel stations,” Lomas adds.

There are currently around 8,300 petrol stations in the UK, a decline of more than a third since 2000.

The number of petrol stations in the UK is significantly lower than in other countries – in Italy, for example, there were still almost 22,000 petrol stations in 2022.

In the 1960s there were more than 40,000 petrol stations across the UK.