Originally Posted by selfin
I'd be keen to know how you quantify this remark.
Furthermore, if the American Petroleum Institute after numerous tests concludes cellphones are perfectly safe at gas stations they'll be guilty of heresy eh?
I'm surprised some of you chaps manage it out the front door.
Absolutely true. Only a cellphone that has been seriously tampered with would produce sparks able to ignite gasoline vapours (if there were - higly unlikey as well).
The signs that you see are the product of our litigious and hiper-protective society, were too often safety decisions are made not by scientists and engineers, but by general managers with totally different goals. It does cost nothing to prohibit cellphones while refuelleing and gives to the publice the false feeling you're looking after them.
At the same time they may not tell you that the same station thanks (hipotetically) are not sealed/inspected carefully and releasing toxic substances in the soil, but the general public would never notice that, while the ignition video is rapidly circulated to become another urban legend, so they feel they must protect their .sses first.