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Published on August 22, 2007

I advised motorists to switch off the engine while refuelling and I received a large number of reader responses agreeing with what I suggested.

But from the 30 or so e-mails supporting my suggestions, I guess from the names that about 70 per cent are foreigners living in Thailand, and there were only a few locals. This figure reflects the habit of the Thai people in general, who usually are not interested in safety issues.

Only when a major accident or tragedy takes place will Thais start talking about it and organising various campaigns. Then after a short time people easily forget what happened and stop campaigning. It is a national habit that foreigners sometimes find hard to understand.

Today even though there are warning signs at fuel stations asking drivers to shut off the engine, to refrain from using the mobile phone and to do nothing that would make sparks, nobody takes them seriously. We can even see food stalls with stoves being set up in or in front of the stations and no agency will step in to stop them from doing that.

From the e-mails I received, there is one from Mr Walter, who also asked about the use of gasohol as follows.

 

Dear Khun Pattanadesh

With interest I read today your article in The Nation. I agree fully with you, that every car owner filling up at a petrol station should turn off his car's engine during the filling process.

May I ask you a question? In March 2003 I bought a new Toyota Vios. Until today I have refuelled the tank of my car with petrol 91, as the red sticker on the tank lock indicates.

Would it do my car any harm if from now on I refuelled with gasohol 91?

If you have the time to answer my question I would be most thankful to you, because I am certain that you are the competent person for such questions.

Thank you and best regards,

Walter

Thanks for agreeing with my suggestions and for following my column. I always try to tell those close to me that no matter whether other people turn off their engines, we should start doing it and make a good example for others. At first some people might look at us with a funny face, but in time more people will follow us. And Thai society will be a safer one.

Today more and more people are wearing yellow shirts on Monday and blue shirts on Fridays, which is a sign of paying respect to our King and Queen.

T-shirts or polo shirts don't get crumpled easily, even after being washed. So if the Thai people wear these kinds of shirts and don't iron them, we can also save a lot of energy, as well as helping to lower global warming.

About using gasohol, you can use it right away. For cars older than three years, if you find that the acceleration is a bit slower, just replace the fuel filter and the acceleration will be back to normal.

But this doesn't happen to every car that uses gasohol. I'm just saying that it could happen and this is how you solve the problem.

Starting to use gasohol is not difficult. For those with petrol-powered vehicles and fuel injection, you can just drive into a station and fill in gasohol right away. There is no need for any modifications or cleaning of the fuel tank as many people think.

For peace of mind, just try to notice whether there are any changes after using gasohol instead of petrol. If there are no symptoms, you can just continue using gasohol. For those who "feel" that the acceleration is slower, you might compare the slight loss in performance and the Bt3.50 price difference per litre and think whether it is worth it.

E-mail your motoring questions to  Pattanadesh@nationgroup.com.

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The Luxury LS 460 is a wonderfully comfaortable car fitted with all mod cons, althoough not necessarily the most fun vehicle to drive.