# Has the "cell phone at gas pump = disaster" warning been debunked? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 15, 2025, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-cell-phone-at-gas-pump-disaster-warning-been-debunked/1015610 "2025-03-15T13:51:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![GailForce](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/dfb087/32.png) [@GailForce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GailForce)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2025, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-cell-phone-at-gas-pump-disaster-warning-been-debunked/1015610/1 "2025-03-15T13:51:30Z")
About to gas up, and i need to make a call. Is it safe? ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2025, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-cell-phone-at-gas-pump-disaster-warning-been-debunked/1015610/2 "2025-03-15T13:53:59Z")
I don’t think there is any documented proof that using a cell phone at a gas station has ever caused an explosion or fire. This is just a myth. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2025, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-cell-phone-at-gas-pump-disaster-warning-been-debunked/1015610/3 "2025-03-15T13:56:46Z")
Debunked according to Mythbusters: > “Using a cellphone will not blow up the gas station,” Savage said, referring to the common myth that you could accidentally blow up a gas station with a cellphone. > **[The Guys From MythBusters Debunked One of the Biggest Myths in Tech](https://www.slate.com/blogs/business_insider/2014/10/03/cellphones_at_gas_stations_mythbusters_debunk_one_of_the_biggest_myths_in.html)** > > This article originally appeared in Business Insider. Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman, the hosts of Discovery Channel’s MythBusters, were keynote speaker ... ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Mouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mighty_mouse/32/7776_2.png) [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2025, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-cell-phone-at-gas-pump-disaster-warning-been-debunked/1015610/4 "2025-03-15T13:58:21Z")
My preferred gas station has an app to pay for gas at the pump which gives you discounts. If there was ANY chance that there was ANY truth to this meme, they wouldn’t do it. However the 7-11 on the same road has a sign warning against cell phone use near the pumps. Nothing at that 7-11 except the price labels seems to have been updated since the turn of the century. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2025, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-cell-phone-at-gas-pump-disaster-warning-been-debunked/1015610/5 "2025-03-15T14:29:33Z")
> [@GailForce](#): > > Is it safe? “Yes, it’s very safe, so safe you wouldn’t even believe it.” Stranger ---
**Author:** ![GailForce](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/dfb087/32.png) [@GailForce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GailForce)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2025, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-cell-phone-at-gas-pump-disaster-warning-been-debunked/1015610/6 "2025-03-15T14:31:08Z")
Thanks for getting my allusion. I’m on a big Bill Goldman kick this week. ---
**Author:** ![FluffyBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecb155/32.png) [@FluffyBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FluffyBob)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2025, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-cell-phone-at-gas-pump-disaster-warning-been-debunked/1015610/7 "2025-03-15T14:36:57Z")
Odd. I’ve seen warnings about the dangers of static discharge during refilling, but I don’t recall ever seeing any warnings about cell phone use at gas stations. Pay phones were a standard fixture at gas stations long before cell phones were a thing, and I don’t recall any issues being raised about them either. I recall something about supermodels, cigarettes and carelessness. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2025, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-cell-phone-at-gas-pump-disaster-warning-been-debunked/1015610/8 "2025-03-15T14:59:54Z")
> [@FluffyBob](#): > > I recall something about supermodels, cigarettes and carelessness. Just because we have chiseled abs and stunning features, it doesn’t mean that we too can’t not die in a freak gasoline fight accident. ---
**Author:** ![Heracles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heracles/32/487_2.png) [@Heracles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heracles)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2025, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-cell-phone-at-gas-pump-disaster-warning-been-debunked/1015610/9 "2025-03-15T15:06:15Z")
> [@FluffyBob](#): > > I’ve seen warnings about the dangers of static discharge during refilling, but I don’t recall ever seeing any warnings about cell phone use at gas stations. Pay phones were a standard fixture at gas stations long before cell phones were a thing, and I don’t recall any issues being raised about them either. The pay phones were typically some distance away from the pumps themselves, and didn’t use batteries. The claim I heard, at the time, was that a 1995 phone could occasionally emit sparks. (When you removed or installed the large battery, I guess?) If the phone in your left hand were to spark while you were filling up the tank with your right hand, the ambient gasoline fumes could ignite. It was pretty far-fetched. ---
**Author:** ![Fortyfold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7c8e57/32.png) [@Fortyfold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fortyfold)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2025, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-cell-phone-at-gas-pump-disaster-warning-been-debunked/1015610/10 "2025-03-15T15:19:42Z")
I worked at a gas station once, and was sent on a safety course. While there were some scare stories about mobile phone radiation going around at the time, the reason for a ban was that they are electrical devices and shouldn’t be operated in the high risk zones (next to the pumps, by the vents for the tanks). And radios shouldn’t be used, and the car turned off for the same reason. ---
**Author:** ![Sylvanz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/fbc32d/32.png) [@Sylvanz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sylvanz)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2025, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-cell-phone-at-gas-pump-disaster-warning-been-debunked/1015610/11 "2025-03-15T16:30:04Z")
It’s dangerous to get back in the car while fueling, then get out when the pump handle clicks off. Cell phones? Not so much. ---
**Author:** ![Llama\_Llogophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2025, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-cell-phone-at-gas-pump-disaster-warning-been-debunked/1015610/12 "2025-03-15T16:41:33Z")
I remember looking this up over 20 years ago and finding it was unfounded. ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2025, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-cell-phone-at-gas-pump-disaster-warning-been-debunked/1015610/13 "2025-03-15T16:50:25Z")
> [@Sylvanz](#): > > It’s dangerous to get back in the car while fueling, then get out when the pump handle clicks off. Yeah this is classic correlation!=causation. There where definitely some cases where talking on the phone while filling up with gas was correlated with explosions. But the cause was getting back in the car to talk on the phone (and hence get a build up of static electricity, which then caused a spark when you touch the gas pump) not the phone at all ---
**Author:** ![Tatterdemalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/43a26b/32.png) [@Tatterdemalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tatterdemalion)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2025, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-cell-phone-at-gas-pump-disaster-warning-been-debunked/1015610/14 "2025-03-15T17:32:51Z")
I suspect that most of those who promulgate this myth are operating off of half remembered training films from back when a higher proportion of the population had served in the military. The military, Army and Navy both, have figured out every possible way to screw up a refueling operation over the last hundred plus years. And high on the list is keying on a high powered HF radio when there are gasoline fumes in the air. That can and has caused explosions. By high powered I mean multiple kilowatt. A cell phone transmits between one half to 5 watts at a frequency much higher than HF, and is vanishingly unlikely to cause an accident. Of course smoking, using unsafe containers and poor grounding and ventilation can also cause accidents, and getting people used to not being careless when messing with gasoline is a good thing. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2025, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-cell-phone-at-gas-pump-disaster-warning-been-debunked/1015610/15 "2025-03-15T17:49:26Z")
The big warning labels next to gas pumps used to include cell phones as one potential source of danger, but they eventually disappeared. A victory for science over the making up of things. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2025, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-cell-phone-at-gas-pump-disaster-warning-been-debunked/1015610/16 "2025-03-15T18:07:07Z")
When I was working for the NHS, back in the 90s, there was a ban on using mobile phones inside hospitals. This was, apparently, on the grounds that they might interfere with sensitive equipment. Sometime later, the ban was dropped because the problem did not exist. This has been a major blow to the organisation that provides TV and telephones to the beds in the wards as no one uses their expensive phones anymore. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2025, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-cell-phone-at-gas-pump-disaster-warning-been-debunked/1015610/17 "2025-03-15T18:17:38Z")
Apparently if you hold a cell phone really close to some equipment it can create some interference. I have some advice for hospitals, then. [Mobile phones in hospitals: Are not as hazardous as believed and should be allowed at least in non-clinical areas - PMC](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1125359/) ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2025, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-cell-phone-at-gas-pump-disaster-warning-been-debunked/1015610/18 "2025-03-15T18:23:01Z")
As that article says, the biggest hazards are radio devices like walkie-talkies. This would surely apply to petrol stations as well. I know that the emergency services use specially adapted (safe) devices when working near flammable fumes. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2025, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-cell-phone-at-gas-pump-disaster-warning-been-debunked/1015610/19 "2025-03-15T20:39:49Z")
Does every outlandish claim really need formal debunking? Could there be any gas stations left if a nearby cell call could make one blow up? ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2025, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-cell-phone-at-gas-pump-disaster-warning-been-debunked/1015610/20 "2025-03-15T20:54:17Z")
> [@jnglmassiv](#): > > Does every outlandish claim really need formal debunking? I mean until fairly recently there were warning signs in garage forecourts about this, so it’s not _that_ outrageous (by some definition of recently I was trying to think when I saw the last one, 5 years ago? 10? I’m at an age when it all kind of blends together 😉 ) It could’ve been a risk without condemning every mobile using gas station customer to a fiery death. The thing that probably prompted the rumor was the real risk of getting back in the car and getting a static charge when you return to the gas pump. But plenty of people do that and don’t get blown up, it’s fairly hard to set fire to a modern gas pump. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-the-cell-phone-at-gas-pump-disaster-warning-been-debunked/1015610.md?page=2)