"Curiosity" type question....

[Franco Barber]

On Wed, Jun 04, 2003 at 08:25:11PM -0400, cobram at juno.com wrote:
>  Franco Barber <feb at febsun.cmhnet.org> writes:
>
> > drive up either side you choose.  I don't know how common it is
> > in the rest of Europe, but in my part of southern Italy, it was
> > quite common to have a gas station that consisted of just a
> > pump or two on the side of the road.  You could only pull up to the
> > pump in one direction, and if your filler tube was on the left,
> > the gas jockey would have to stretch the fuel hose all the way over
> > to the other side of the car.  What if the hose is too short?
>
> Well, I guess you weren't South of Italy enough!  My experience in Sicily
> is that nobody cares what side of the road the pump is on, they just pull
> right in, nobody turns around.  And if there are two cars already at the
> pump, then of course,  you back your car up to the pump in between those
> two.  Plenty of room since most of what they drive over there fits in the
> trunk of a V8Q.

Well, I was trying not to mention how bad they drive over there.
You're right, of course, drivers in that area will do anything physically
possible (and some things that I'd swear aren't).

I've never been to Sicily.  I spent a lot of time in Naples, and the
driving is pretty hectic.  They also have a large number of one-way
streets, which further complicates things.

>
> It makes alot of sense though, I'd be willing to bet the reason you cited
> is why most European cars have the filler on the right side.
>

Well, even after all that, I have to admit that the number of pumps
on the side of the road like this is probably diminishing.
I think I heard on the RAI TG some time back that there were too
many fueling stations in Italy and there was an active plan to cut
down on the number of them.  I imagine the little one-pump stations
on the side of the road will be the first ones to go.

Franco

--
Franco Barber                   feb at febsun.cmhnet.org
95 A6Q w/Gamma CD mit RDS!      Columbus, Ohio  USA
95 A6Q 5spd w/HCB-30 bluetooth car kit!