# Dashboard "Miles Till Empty" - how accurate? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 4, 2015, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dashboard-miles-till-empty-how-accurate/726985 "2015-08-04T17:09:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2015, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dashboard-miles-till-empty-how-accurate/726985/41 "2015-08-04T19:54:20Z")
Never mind, WHY BOTHER ---
**Author:** ![AnaMen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dfb087/32.png) [@AnaMen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnaMen)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2015, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dashboard-miles-till-empty-how-accurate/726985/42 "2015-08-04T20:04:16Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > Running out of gas is not a minor inconvenience. It can get you a traffic ticket, it can get you into an accident, and it can require a professional to get it started again. That all sounds minor to me, except obviously an accident could theoretically be major. When your car runs out of gas and you know what that feels like, there is generally sufficient warning to control the situation and safely pull over. I’m not saying one should not try to never run out of gas, merely that there is no need to get upset about the very idea of it. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2015, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dashboard-miles-till-empty-how-accurate/726985/43 "2015-08-04T20:08:50Z")
Yet you try to convince your boyfriend that he SHOULD run out of gas – deliberately. Which is flat out stupid. I hear that most people survive stabbings and shootings too. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2015, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dashboard-miles-till-empty-how-accurate/726985/44 "2015-08-04T20:11:26Z")
I ran out of gas once, right in the middle of an intersection while I was waiting to make a left turn. Two cars came damn close to hitting me. I was young and poor and not particularly good about my priorities. Odds are I bought some weed instead of a tank of gas. Never again. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2015, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dashboard-miles-till-empty-how-accurate/726985/45 "2015-08-04T20:12:35Z")
> [@AnaMen](#): > > To me, being an adult is being able to handle minor inconveniences, not being anxious about the idea that your day might not go exactly as you planned. Sometimes I have to wait for people or be inconvenienced by them, sometimes I may keep someone waiting or inconvenience others. I am happy to stop and provide help for people and I encounter others who feel the exact same way. > > When one goes to extreme care to never be in the way, it can be very annoying when someone gets in your way, as if you’ve somehow earned the right for this never to happen. I don’t want to go around being annoyed by people all the time. I see now. You’re one of _those_; a people person. I bet your shopping cart it always blocking the aisle while you stare at the ketchup selection. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![AnaMen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dfb087/32.png) [@AnaMen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnaMen)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2015, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dashboard-miles-till-empty-how-accurate/726985/46 "2015-08-04T20:14:38Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > Yet you try to convince your boyfriend that he SHOULD run out of gas – deliberately. Which is flat out stupid. > > I hear that most people survive stabbings and shootings too. 😛 Ex-boyfriend. I’m with someone who would not care about running out of gas now. We can drive in peace with no hysterics. Running out of gas is nothing like getting stabbed or shot, since those would be painful. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2015, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dashboard-miles-till-empty-how-accurate/726985/47 "2015-08-04T20:17:22Z")
I’m curious **AnaMen** , how often _do_ you run out of gas? ---
**Author:** ![AnaMen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dfb087/32.png) [@AnaMen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnaMen)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2015, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dashboard-miles-till-empty-how-accurate/726985/48 "2015-08-04T20:18:18Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > I see now. You’re one of _those_; a people person. I bet your shopping cart it always blocking the aisle while you stare at the ketchup selection. 😉 I’m pretty much the opposite, which is why I like to encounter random acts of kindness. You must be the one fuming behind the ketchup browser, popping blood pressure meds. ---
**Author:** ![AnaMen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dfb087/32.png) [@AnaMen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnaMen)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2015, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dashboard-miles-till-empty-how-accurate/726985/49 "2015-08-04T20:20:07Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > I’m curious **AnaMen** , how often _do_ you run out of gas? Two or three times a decade probably. Maybe less these days, as I have more time and money than at some other stages of my life. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2015, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dashboard-miles-till-empty-how-accurate/726985/50 "2015-08-04T20:20:25Z")
> [@AnaMen](#): > > To me, being an adult is being able to handle minor inconveniences, not being anxious about the idea that your day might not go exactly as you planned. Sometimes I have to wait for people or be inconvenienced by them, sometimes I may keep someone waiting or inconvenience others. I am happy to stop and provide help for people and I encounter others who feel the exact same way. > > When one goes to extreme care to never be in the way, it can be very annoying when someone gets in your way, as if you’ve somehow earned the right for this never to happen. I don’t want to go around being annoyed by people all the time. Keeping your tank filled is an extreme? Avoiding running out of gas seems like the bare minimum one can do. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2015, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dashboard-miles-till-empty-how-accurate/726985/51 "2015-08-04T20:23:41Z")
> [@AnaMen](#): > > I’m pretty much the opposite, which is why I like to encounter random acts of kindness. > > You must be the one fuming behind the ketchup browser, popping blood pressure meds. I feel like you always give us motives we really don’t have. Just because I am annoyed by the ketchup browser does not mean I am popping blood pressure meds. Moreover, just because I pick my ketchup quickly and efficiently doesn’t mean I am, I dunno, anxious about picking ketchup. Just because I make sure to always have gas in my tank doesn’t mean I have any anxiety about it whatsoever. I just like to have gas in my tank. ---
**Author:** ![AnaMen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dfb087/32.png) [@AnaMen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnaMen)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2015, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dashboard-miles-till-empty-how-accurate/726985/52 "2015-08-04T20:25:17Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > Keeping your tank filled is an extreme? Not necessarily, although one could take it to that point, insisting on never letting it get below 7/8 full or something–then you’d really be taking up a lot of your time for no good reason. It’s the idea that you personally should NEVER be in anyone’s way ever that is extreme. ---
**Author:** ![Kenm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bc79bd/32.png) [@Kenm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kenm)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2015, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dashboard-miles-till-empty-how-accurate/726985/53 "2015-08-04T20:27:01Z")
> [@AnaMen](#): > > Not necessarily, although one could take it to that point, insisting on never letting it get below 7/8 full or something. . . . But fillups are so much _cheaper_ doing that. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2015, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dashboard-miles-till-empty-how-accurate/726985/54 "2015-08-04T20:27:56Z")
I see now. So to summarize: You save hours of time a year, make new friends, save the environment, get some exercise, maintain a clean gas tank and practice random acts of kindness simply by running out of gas. While those of us who fill their tank with gas when it gets low are obviously type A anti-social assholes who pop blood pressure meds. Is that about right, **Saint AnaMen**? ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2015, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dashboard-miles-till-empty-how-accurate/726985/55 "2015-08-04T20:28:29Z")
> [@AnaMen](#): > > Not necessarily, although one could take it to that point, insisting on never letting it get below 7/8 full or something–then you’d really be taking up a lot of your time for no good reason. It’s the idea that you personally should NEVER be in anyone’s way ever that is extreme. But…I never let it get below 7/8 of a tank, and it doesn’t take up a lot of my time to fill it up. I mean, our lives are different, you get that, right? The gas station is literally on my way home from work and it takes me less than 5 minutes at all times to fill it up. It is no skin off my back, so I usually fill up once a week - twice if we have used the car to go on a long trip. It’s a priority for me. That does not make it some kind of anxiety-inducing thing! I just keep it in the back of my head to fill it up approximately once a week. ---
**Author:** ![AnaMen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dfb087/32.png) [@AnaMen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnaMen)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2015, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dashboard-miles-till-empty-how-accurate/726985/56 "2015-08-04T20:29:47Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > I feel like you always give us motives we really don’t have. Just because I am annoyed by the ketchup browser does not mean I am popping blood pressure meds. Moreover, just because I pick my ketchup quickly and efficiently doesn’t mean I am, I dunno, anxious about picking ketchup. Just because I make sure to always have gas in my tank doesn’t mean I have any anxiety about it whatsoever. I just like to have gas in my tank. I didn’t introduce the idea of low-gas anxiety here. If you like keeping your tank over some certain amount, that makes good sense. It’s the stress over the situation–which you may not have at all–that doesn’t. I get gas efficiently, which means minimizing stops for me. I don’t run out of gas terribly often, because I know when my car really means I need gas and when it’s just nagging prematurely. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2015, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dashboard-miles-till-empty-how-accurate/726985/57 "2015-08-04T20:30:02Z")
> [@AnaMen](#): > > It’s the idea that you personally should NEVER be in anyone’s way ever that is extreme. Who said that? I certainly didn’t. ---
**Author:** ![AnaMen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dfb087/32.png) [@AnaMen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnaMen)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2015, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dashboard-miles-till-empty-how-accurate/726985/58 "2015-08-04T20:38:43Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > I see now. > > So to summarize: You save hours of time a year, make new friends, save the environment, get some exercise, maintain a clean gas tank and practice random acts of kindness simply by running out of gas. While those of us who fill their tank with gas when it gets low are obviously type A anti-social assholes who pop blood pressure meds. > > Is that about right, **Saint AnaMen**? I do save hours of time a year, but it’s my time, so nothing saintly about that. I don’t keep in touch with people who have helped me, so no new friends, but I do remember them fondly. I never said I did anything for the environment–obviously I drive a car, so I don’t care about it that much. Yes, my tank is nice and clean. No, running out of gas is not an act of kindness: I pass the favor along to my people when I encounter them by the side of the road. We irresponsible types have to help each other out. I’m not claiming to be a saint by running out of gas. It’s just a thing that happens from time to time, don’t pop a blood vessel thinking about it. ---
**Author:** ![AnaMen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dfb087/32.png) [@AnaMen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnaMen)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2015, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dashboard-miles-till-empty-how-accurate/726985/59 "2015-08-04T20:42:56Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > Who said that? I certainly didn’t. You said it should be minimized or something to that effect. If getting gas often is what makes you feel good about yourself, go for it. Frankly, your situation of having to get gas while driving an ill infant to the hospital sounds pretty irresponsible. I’d keep my tank fuller under that circumstance for sure. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2015, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dashboard-miles-till-empty-how-accurate/726985/60 "2015-08-04T20:49:12Z")
> [@AnaMen](#): > > … Frankly, your situation of having to get gas while driving an ill infant to the hospital sounds pretty irresponsible. I’d keep my tank fuller under that circumstance for sure. Seriously, that’s an appalling comment for someone who doesn’t mind running out of gas. A child could ge sick at any moment, without advance notice. Unless you are just claiming that a _parent_ is irresponsible for letting a gas tank go empty, but not you since you don’t have a kid? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dashboard-miles-till-empty-how-accurate/726985.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dashboard-miles-till-empty-how-accurate/726985.md?page=4)