I imagine the first reaction to this question is a smile. Jokes and funny videos about drivers driving away from the fuel pump with the nozzle still in the tank immediately come to mind. Men will certainly claim that such a blunder is possible for anyone, but not for them.
However, jokes aside — this really does happen, and not always due to the driver's fault. Let's look at typical scenarios.
Your mistake, but no serious consequences
Let's say you pulled up to the station, but the staff were busy with other cars. You had to insert the nozzle into the tank yourself and go pay.
Often, the driver gets into the car, starts the engine, and begins to move, assuming the attendant has already done everything. It's good if a attentive person nearby calls out. If not, you drive off, dragging the hose with the nozzle behind you.
Everyone starts differently, and with a sharp press on the gas pedal, the nozzle can be torn out with force.
So, you moved off, the hose stretched, but the nozzle eventually popped out. Nothing terrible happened — it just fell to the ground, and the hose stayed in place. Visually, there is no damage.
Onlookers will immediately gather: from neighbors at the station to the administrator. Of course, management will immediately check if the pump is working.
In our case, everything works. If the station staff start pressuring you and demanding a fine, you can confidently defend your position. But only if nothing critical really happened.
If you feel they are trying to "scam" you and you're not sure about the equipment's condition, suggest calling in a commodity expert. As a rule, if station workers realize they won't get anything, they'll drop the claims or settle the matter themselves.
Responsibility on the attendant
An employee met you, asked about the fuel type, and pointed to the pump number. You paid, got out of the car, and sat back in, while the attendant, for example, got distracted by another customer — washing windows or refueling. An inattentive driver might think the process is complete and drive off.
It's clear that in such a situation, the station worker will try to shift the blame onto you, citing your carelessness.
Insist on your position, because refueling the car is their direct duty. If they took on the service, they must see it through to the end.
All modern gas stations (especially in large cities) have surveillance cameras. In a dispute, they will help confirm your correctness.
In a conversation with one of the attendants, I asked him the question from the title and heard the answer: if the hose tears due to his fault, he will have to pay out of his own pocket.
Your fault and presence of damage
Here's where it gets interesting.
The fine amount can vary greatly at different stations. For example, at one of the large chains, I was told a range of from 1500 to 3500 hryvnias — depending on the extent of damage.
Ukrainian legislation has no such fine: issues of property damage and compensation should be resolved through court. You are simply presented with a fact: either pay or there will be problems.
Running away is pointless — all stations cooperate with security services, and you will be found and stopped anyway, especially since remembering a license plate is easy. And if your actions are recorded on cameras, a case may be opened.
The main thing you can try to defend is reducing the fine amount, since an expert assessment is needed for an accurate damage estimate (and no one will conduct it), so often the figure is pulled "out of thin air."
Yes, they might include downtime of the pump and other nuances in the amount, but that's no reason to agree unconditionally.
Technical details
To protect the fuel dispenser from breakdowns and ensure people's safety in situations where a car starts moving with the nozzle in the tank, a reusable swivel breakaway coupling is used in the design.
It is installed between the nozzle and the hose. The coupling separates under both longitudinal and angular force (approximately 80-120 kg), and a built-in valve in the breakaway part prevents fuel leakage.
After the coupling breaks (if it's not damaged), an experienced mechanic can restore it to working condition in a few minutes. To do this, you need to turn off the pump, drain fuel from the hose, inspect parts for damage, lubricate, and reassemble.
By the way, such a coupling costs about $100 (a Chinese analog is even cheaper).
Conclusion
In any of the described situations, you can, of course, resort to lawyers and independent experts, but that will be expensive. It's much wiser to try to negotiate on the spot, because it's unknown what is ultimately more beneficial: paying the fine or defending your rights in court.
