Turns out it's safe to use a cellphone at the gas station — and that could change the way you pay

Sarah Law
March 12, 2019
CBC News
‘We looked at the risk assessment, and agreed with the conclusions about the negligible risk,’ agency says
The TSSA will let people use cellphones to pay for gas at dispensers in Ontario, the agency said in a news release. (Graham Hughes/THE CANADIAN PRESS)
For years, drivers were told using a cellphone at the gas station could cause a fire by igniting vapours at the pumps, but now Ontario’s Technical Standards and Safety Authority is saying otherwise.
The TSSA will let people use cellphones to pay for gas at dispensers in Ontario, the agency said in a news release.
The agency, a delegated authority of the provincial government, reviewed an assessment published last month by researchers at BakerRisk, a San Antonio, Texas consulting firm. The study found there is only a one in 10 billion chance that using cellphones at gas stations could ignite vapours.
“We looked at the risk assessment done by Baker and we’re satisfied and agreed with the conclusions about the very negligible risk that a phone could ignite even an ideal mixture of a gasoline vapour cloud,” John Marshall, the director of the fuel safety program at the TSSA told CBC Toronto.
A study, conducted by the San Antonio, Texas consulting firm BakerRisk, found that there has been no fire caused by cellphone use at gas stations in the last 20 years. (Randy McDonald/CBC)
“Based on that information, we decided we were comfortable applying a risk-based approach to this and altering our position and saying we would allow the use of cellphones for a pay app at a gas station,” he said.
The assessment said there have been no fires caused by cellphone use at gas stations in the last 20 years. People are encouraged to pay for gas with apps on their cellphones if they choose, as long as they put their phones away while at the pump to avoid distraction.
Where did the concerns come from?
But what caused people’s misconceptions about the danger in the first place?
Marshall said it was recommendations from cellphone manufacturers themselves, since they “do not consider cellphones to be what we call an intrinsically safe device — which means they could be a potential source for ignition.”
But the risk — one in 10 billion — has been proven to be negligible.
The assessment was commissioned by the Canadian Fuels Association. Marc Gagnon, the director of government and stakeholder relations, told CBC Toronto he agrees that it was cellphone manufacturers who initially cautioned people not to use their cellphones at service stations.
However, with improvements in the design of cellphones, there is even less cause for concern.
“Years ago, the first cellphones were quite a bit more powerful, in terms of the size of their batteries for instance, and it was perceived as a higher risk in those years than it is now with their lower voltages,” Gagnon said.
‘Pay with your phone, then put it away’
Both Marshall and Gagnon said that although people can pay for gas with apps on their cellphones, they should be focusing on the task at hand.
“The biggest risk lies with distraction, sort of like when you’re driving and using your cellphone, you get distracted and that’s when incidents can occur,” said Gagnon.
“It’s one thing to bump into someone in the hallway because you’re looking at your phone — it’s another to collide with a car.”
Meanwhile, Marshall said distracted fuelling could lead to spills and other dangers.
“If you’re using your phone, pay with your app, put it away and then focus on the fuelling activity.”