Tesco, Sainsbury's, Morrisons, Asda drivers who ignore dashboard light will 'look like an idiot'

Tesco, Sainsbury's, Morrisons, Asda drivers who ignore dashboard light will 'look like an idiot'
-Credit: (Image: Reach Publishing Services Limited)


Tesco, Sainsbury's, Morrisons and Asda drivers have been told to look out for a "genius" petrol station warning light on their dashboards. Motorists and road users have only just realised the meaning of the handy light in their cars.

Which? suggested that drivers were “today years old when I learnt what this car dashboard symbol meant". A spokesperson for Which? explained: “The man who came up with this symbol is a complete and utter genius.

“Just a really simple tip for someone driving a new and different car. This arrow by the fuel pump on the dashboard indicates what side of the car the fuel cap is on. That means no more driving around the petrol station looking like an idiot.

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"The crazy thing about this simple design is it took until 1986 before someone thought of it. That was Jim Moylan over at Ford. An engineer, who got drenched trying to find the fuel cap in the rain. And contrary to popular internet belief, the side that nozzle is on has nothing to do with the side of the fuel cap. In fact, it’s almost always pictured on the right.”

Which? added: “And even today this arrow isn’t everywhere. Imagine if you spent a quarter of a million on this Ferrari and then you’re sat in the petrol station feeling like a rich idiot because you forgot where you left the fuel cap.

"Sort it out automakers and don’t forget the electric vehicles, they need their little arrows too. And that’s before we even talk about the plug-in hybrids. They have two fuel caps, one for fossil fuels and one for electricity.” In reply, a driver said: "A friend told me when I was driving a hire car. Before I used to look outside.”

“Every time I check that symbol - I drive a lot of different vehicles- I thank the guy who came up with it," a second said. A third wrote: “I thought it meant what side of the pump to park on originally and kept getting it wrong. Ashamed to admit how many times I did it."