Did your parents tell you using a cell phone at the gas pump would blow up the gas station? Turns out, there’s no record that’s ever happened.
Tang Ming Tung/Getty Images
There’s no question that millennials carry their Gen X or Boomer parents’ anxieties. From the passenger seat, millennials learned that turning on the inside light would get their parents arrested, that cellphones at the gas pump would kill everyone, and that you must let the car run for 5 minutes before taking off. But your parents were rewriting facts long before they were misremembering your childhood. So, here’s the truth behind the tall tales parents told, which formed long-held car myths.
Your parents won’t go to jail for turning on the reading light while driving
Night driving can be challenging for many people. Turning on an interior light, which can cast glare on an otherwise dark windshield, can certainly make the commute even more difficult. But no, your parents were never at risk of going to jail when you turned on the interior reading light to find where your Tamagotchi or Game Boy fell.
Article continues below this ad
In Texas or any state in the U.S., there’s no explicit law banning the use of interior lights while driving. Surely it wasn’t just our parents telling us that it was a one-way ticket to a life behind bars.
“It’s a common myth that it is illegal to drive with the dome light on in Texas, but it’s actually not. Perhaps you were led to believe it was an illegal act thanks to your parents. Like beliefs about Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny, parents have told their kids to turn off the dome light while driving at night,” Angel Reyes, of Angel Reyes & Associates, writes.
In reality, it was likely spurred by parents with waning nighttime visibility, an issue that aging millennials are likely to better understand these days. However, poor nighttime vision, worsened by a glaring interior light, could lead to driving mistakes, triggering flashing red and blue lights and a ticket for reckless driving.
Article continues below this ad
Talking on the phone at the gas pump won’t blow up the place
Tall tales of exploding gas stations abounded in the early aughts –– another legend passed down by worried parents. But there’s no evidence that cellphone use has set a gas pump on fire, and there’s no law in Texas banning cellphone use at the pumps.
There is no recorded incident where using a cellphone caused an explosion at a gas pump, according to Erie Insurance’s breakdown of fueling station myths and legends. In fact, the Petroleum Equipment Institute reports that there’s no documented case of a cellphone causing a gas station fire at all.
Article continues below this ad
However, distracted drivers are a treacherous nuisance, and Erie Insurance says they’re more likely to drive off with the pump still in the fuel filler opening. Luckily, those pumps typically have a release for this (it happens more than you’d think), but you could be on the hook for hundreds of dollars in repairs. Plus, you shouldn’t get back in your car once you start fueling.
Shelling out for premium gas won’t make your car run better unless it requires it
Ever stood at the gas pump wondering who is shelling out the extra dough for the higher-octane gas? Or maybe your parents led you to believe the pricier fuel would somehow make your car run better or faster? It won’t, and splashing that extra cash per gallon is basically burning your money for no reason… unless your car requires it (OK, fancy).
According to Driveway, vehicles that don’t require the expensive stuff won’t see any real benefit from using it. But be sure to check your vehicle manual to make sure you shouldn’t be using premium gas.
Article continues below this ad
“Premium gas is designed for high-performance engines that need higher octane fuel to prevent knocking, which is caused when fuel ignites unevenly in the cylinders,” Driveway reports. “If your car runs fine on regular gas, stick with it and save that money for an extra coffee or two.”
You don’t need to warm up your car before turning on the A/C, or at all
Have you ever been sweating in a sweltering car that’s been sitting in the summer heat, or shivering mid-winter while you wait for your car to warm up? Parents of previous generations drilled into us that you need to let your engine reach operating temperature before turning on the A/C or other interior amenities. Turns out, they had us burning up for no reason.
Article continues below this ad
Devin Prattof of Consumer Reports says modern engines are fully lubricated from the start. In fact, he says idling a vehicle while waiting for it to reach operating temperature is harder on the engine, wastes fuel and unnecessarily increases emissions. The best way to get your engine running is to drive lightly at the beginning.