Saturday 25 August 2012

Wrong Fuel In Your Car Scotland - Safety Comes First!


Hello everyone, Dave here again!

Hope you have been enjoying the somewhat changeable weather we have been having. Coat on, coat off, coat on, coat off… who knows what the weather's going to bring to us next!?







Bad weather doesn't help when working at the roadside but even when it's a nice day, working in this environment is still one of the most dangerous places to drain the wrong fuel from a car - we have had some hair raising moments (due to other drivers!).

In 1998 6 vehicle recovery workers were killed on motorways and hard shoulders so SURVIVE was created to establish a level of safety amongst vehicle breakdown and recovery operations.

AFS has achieved their PAS 43 accreditation and therefore we know how to set up our safe working zone correctly to protect us and our customers.

When a customer has accidentally put the wrong fuel in their car, we can typically be there for around an hour so safety needs to be implemented effectively.

We carry 3 different types of fire extinguishers on board and there's always a CO2 one on hand whenever we work on cases where the wrong fuel has been accidentally pumped into the car. Be prepared is always our motto!

All AFS staff obtain an ADR licence which covers us for driving vehicles that carry dangerous goods.  It is basically 5 days of complete hell!

Like going back to school really – lots of people sat around in a room being hit over the head with health and safety legislation again and again. However, we do learn a lot about how to protect ourselves, how to handle dangerous substances correctly and what to do in an emergency situation.

Another licence we need is the Safety Pass Alliance Petrol Passport. 

This focuses on petrol forecourts. Although this is another 2 days of having health and safety drilled into your skull, it really is imperative in our line of work. 
Most call outs where people accidentally put the wrong fuel in the car in Edinburgh are to petrol forecourts and the draining process needs to be carried out there. 

When you put petrol in a diesel car in Edinburgh, you shouldn’t start it and drive it away so we need to get to work immediately. Although there is no real safe place on a forecourt to work, some places are safer than others.

When you put the wrong fuel in your car in Scotland, we aim to get it out in the fastest, safest manner possible.


As we're always obsessed about the weather in Scotland, it can affect the number of people who accidentally put wrong fuel in their car. The hot weather can make people lethargic and prone to mistakes, whilst cold weather makes people rush to get back inside their warm cars – leading to mistakes putting the wrong fuel in the car in Scotland and across the UK.

This is where Accidental Fuelling Solutions comes to the rescue and safety is always at the heart of what we do – we are the reputable knights in shining armour, coming out to save you when you put petrol in a diesel car in Scotland.  But rest assured, not only will we try and be with you in under an hour and then drain the petrol in your diesel car in Edinburgh within 45 minutes but we are all fully trained. Safety is essential when you are dealing with dangerous substances and AFS take it very seriously.


So that's a little insight into our serious health and safety side! 

Catch you all later folks.

Dave Mc
Director (AFS24/7)

Friday 10 August 2012

Home Alone: Golden Retriever With Hat & New Falkirk Mobile Fuel Drainage Service!

Welcome to another Accidental Fuelling solution blog post!

We've been busy, so busy that I've not been in the house for quite some time!

When removing fuel from cars and covering all of the Scottish Central belt from Edinburgh, Glasgow, Perth and West Lothian can be quite an exhausting exercise but it's all worth it when you come home at the end of the week to see my loved ones... or so I thought!

Picture the scene, I come home, park the van in the drive, open the door (expecting a rapturous reception) but low and behold, no-one is there! Where are you I shout! I'm home!

No Mrs AFS247 and no Woody (my beloved man's best friend) - so what am I to do!!!

It turns out that Mrs Accidental Fuelling Solutions was away to her friends in Fife and Woody was away too - it must’ve been a special occasion cause Woody was wearing a hat!

Anyway, the night was probably what the Dr ordered as I was completely shattered with all the mobile fuel draining from cars I was doing in Scotland and around Perth through the week.

I'm not complaining about anything all the same as I'm pleased the mobile fuel drainage business in Scotland is doing so well and I'm still managing to help quite a lot of folks get back on the road.

So well in fact that we've started to look at expanding the mobile fuel drainage business into Falkirk - one of the most populated towns within the central belt so that I can help people that have put the wrong fuel in their car in Falkirk.

I know there could be some unfortunate drivers in Falkirk so hopefully Accidental Fuelling Solutions in Falkirk could help them out.

So if anyone needs our help in Falkirk, just get in touch and we'll be there as quick as possible!

So, back to the story I forgot I was telling you about...

...that's right, my Mrs and Woody my Golden Retriever leaving me for a fancy night out in Fife at Mrs AFS247 friends house; needless to say by the time they got home, I had fallen asleep on the couch watching the Olympics....

.... then woke up to get back on the road again! What a Friday night!

Take care folks, speak soon!

Dave McGowan

Accidental Fuelling Solutions Director