6 Ways British and American Gas Stations Are Very Different 

You should also mention that in New Jersey and parts of Oregon, it's actually illegal to pump your own gas. Which is kinda funny when the attendant sets the hold open clip and walks away as if that's any safer than someone walking into the store to buy a drink.

True story. In 2017 I had my motorcycle flown from my home state of Alaska to London where a friend of mine picked it up and took it to his place in Hinkley. I arrived a few days later to start my 9 week ride through Western Europe, North Africa and the UK. He had filled it up for me ahead of my arrival and I headed for Plymouth to catch the ferry to Santander SP. I had about an hour to spare before embarking so I figured I’d fill up before loading onto the boat. So I go to a nearby station and grab the black nozzle. Having 3 tanks to fill, I filled the main tank and started on the 1st auxiliary when I noticed the main tank smelled like diesel fuel. I thought that’s odd and looked at the pump. WTH! Now I’ve got 12 liters of diesel in my main tank and the aux tanks flow through it. No way to run the remaining gas in the aux tanks and 30 minutes to get back to the port and onboard the boat! The very nice man at the station allowed me to push it into the car wash pit and drain the tanks out! Sorry environmentalists! Anyway, I filled up again using newly learned English pump nozzle color guide and made it onboard with a few minutes to spare!

The dry humour laced with quite rage is almost hypnotic

From a practical standpoint, I found petrol stations were much more scarce in UK cities. My coworkers even warned me about this situation when I first arrived from the US. True, there are parts of the US where gas stations are nowhere to be found, but that’s not the typical experience for the majority of the population. The other thing I found was the layout and arrangement of many stations differ greatly between the two countries, and I suppose a lot of this has to do with placement. Many of the stations I frequented in suburban London or while on the motorways were tucked into pretty compact places and along one direction of travel as opposed to near roundabouts or intersections. Entry and exit in these instances were extremely tight and limited to a single direction to match the direction of travel on the adjacent road or motorway. In the US, as I’m sure you have found, stations are typically on sizable plots near intersections. Drivers approach them from all directions and can leave the same way. US station lots can be very chaotic places at certain times or locations. Great video. It’s always fun to observe differences between countries and interesting to better understand them.

Back in the day they were often referred to as "service stations", as it was not uncommon to have a garage and mechanic there. That has largely gone by the wayside in the 21st Century.

I think in America we only call it a garage if it.. also has a garage for servicing cars. Which it sometimes does but not most of the time.

Some American gas stations are kind of referred to as garages sometimes, if they have a car repair business. I mean, nobody really says they're taking their car to the gas station to get it fixed, but they technically are. A lot less garage owners are selling gas now, though, because they don't want to bother with it because they don't make money on it.

I remember driving across Wyoming and watching the gas gauge drop lower and lower. I finally found a gas station --and as I pulled up to the pumps, the car coughed and died. I had literally been running on fumes the last few feet.

Our American pumps are color coded? There are so many brand colors and banners on them that i just ignore them... and read the words... ssssshocking, I know!

Another difference is the shown octane. The numbers are higher in the uk (and the rest of Europe) but it's not because the have higher octane. They use a different measurement method (RON, as opposed to the US's octane number which is an average of RON and MON). Actual octane is about the same.

In the UK, petrol stations are also sometimes referred to as filling stations.

1:20 As a New Zealander, I can say that, generally speaking, we use the terms "gas" and "petrol" interchangeably, although we probably lean more towards "petrol".

In the US, a gas station may be called a "garage", but only if they offer full service mechanical work there as well. And those are becoming rarer every day.

When I was a child in the 60s some corners had as many as three competing stations. A lot of the stations had mechanics to do car repairs, and with "full service " the attendant pumped the gas, cleaned the windows, and checked the fluids.

As a Canadian ex pat most of this makes total sense. Interesting side note: in my part of Canada (BC) it's actually a legal requirement to pre-pay for gas.

I used to go back and forth between Montana and Missouri twice a year. I learned two things. One, with gas prices the way they were, it cost as much to drive that distance as it did to fly it. Two, when crossing South Dakota, you CAN get from Sioux Falls to Rapid City on a single tank if you get really good highway gas mileage, but you might end up limping into town. Going from Rapid City to Sioux Falls is a bit easier because you get a slight boost when you don't have to travel against the prevailing winds.

Most road out west do have signs that warn you how far it is until the next "Services". Like the one going into Death Valley from Shoshone. 75 miles to Furnace Creek! And the price of gas at Furnace creek probably nearly equals that in the UK. Nice video!

Because of the large, mostly empty states, it's probably a better comparison to use gas stations relative to the population or number of vehicles in the country.

Did UK petrol stations ever give away stuff? Enco (now Esso or Exxon) used to have pitchers and glasses with tigers on them. Very nice quality. The ad tagline was “put a tiger in your tank.”

I learned about the gallon to liter conversion the first time I went to Canada. What a shock that was. Also the farthest place between two stations in the United States is in my home state of Utah. Its on Interstate 70 between Salina and Green River. A distance of about 130 miles.

I am rarely in the UK, but when in France or Germany, I just don't look at the figures on the pump. I chalk it up to being a tourist and that it's going to be expensive! Also: If I tell a Brit that my car is in the shop, they seem to have a strange image of my having driven my car into the front of a commercial establishment.

American Gas Stations have more convenience stores and restaurants attached as well. The only time I saw that in the UK was at the truck stops or lorry parks.

Another confusing aspect is that MPG in the UK is different to MPG in the US, because the US and UK gallon are different sizes. People always forget to convert this and think that US cars are less efficient because a US gallon is smaller, so don't get as many miles out of burning a US gallon (3.7L) of fuel compared to a UK gallon (4.55L) of fuel.

Tip to avoid static fire: if you have to go back in the car while pumping touch the metal on your car after you get out and before you touch the pump handle, preferably a few feet from it. This will discharge any static electricity into the frame and avoid sparking a fire.

The 'hold open' clip is prohibited in some places in the US. Self-serve is the fueling process in nearly all of the US, but still prohibited in New Jersey. From what I read, Oregon was restricted, but loosened up during the pandemic and now allows self-serve.

Back in 1985, while I was in the US Air Force and stationed in the UK, I bought a car from a guy on base, a 1980 Ford Pinto to be specific, and had some interesting experiences fueling up at petrol stations. Specifically, since this was an American spec car, I had to adapt to the idiosyncrasies of being in Britain. For instance, the fuel cap was on the driver's side, i.e., the opposite side of the car from the typical British car would have it. If I was pulling into a larger station, or the one on base, no problem, but for the little B&B on the way to Ipswich, I had to pull in through the exit and point my car in the opposite direction from where it was supposed to face. Additionally, although my car had the catalytic converter removed (Britain didn't have unleaded fuel at the time), it still had the filler restrictor just inside the filler tube (a little history: Back in the days when you could still get leaded and unleaded gasoline, the nozzles at the pumps for unleaded fuel were smaller in diameter than the older nozzles for the leaded gas. Additionally, a metal bit was added to the filler tube to restrict which type of fuel nozzle you could insert, to keep folks from using the usually cheaper leaded fuel in their "unleaded only" cars, and thus ruining the catalytic converter). Again, my car had the catalytic converter removed, but the restrictor was still in place, and all UK petrol pumps had the larger pump nozzles, so I found myself having to make a makeshift funnel out of an old STP fuel additive bottle.

I'm sure the fuel prices in Britain are mitigated by the island being similar in size to my home state of Minnesota.

don't know when you where last in the UK but petrol pumps taking card payments at the pump is fairly common now

Sure do miss the days of the gas wars - each station/garage would fight for your business by having all sort of free giveaways. Glasses and dishes are the ones I remember best. Of course those stations also pumped your gas, checked your oil/tires, washed your windows. I am sure there are some here who were not yet born when we enjoyed these 'full service' stations. Cheapest gas price I can remember was 18 cents/gallon - we will NEVER see that again. :) While I cannot say I have ever pumped petrol in GB, I did experience sticker shock when I was in Iceland - they also use liters vs gallons and believe me it made me shut up about the prices here in the US.

My dad filled up his diesel pickup with regular gas because of BP’s green handles. He’s held a bit of a grudge ever since.

Filling stations (yes, we've called them that, too) per square mile doesn't mean much--as you point out, Britain doesn't have things like West Texas, the Rockies, or Alaska. But in the UK there are about 8,100 people per petrol station; in the US there is a gas station for every 2,900 people.

Hi, I’m Colin from the UK. When I was 16 (1970’s) I was a petrol attendant and I served petrol into customers cars. We had hold open catches on the triggers so we could check fluid levels for the customers whilst they filled up. Never had a problem as they always cut off in time. Now I’m involved in fuelling yachts and motor cruisers and we still have the catches. A large motor boat can take on 3000 plus litres of diesel taking over 3 hrs to fill up, imagine holding the trigger for that long! Thanks for the channel

Hence the reason I love living on the east coast of the USA. Even in small towns, like where I live in rural Delaware, it's nothing to have two or more gas stations within a "city" block of eachother. No long walks for me! LOL 🤣

Laurence, you are showing signs of being away from Blighty for too long. We've had pay at pump for decades, though it has taken longer to get out to rural areas and there's still the odd one that doesn't take it. We also have pumps at some petrol stations where you can set how much you want to spend, £10, £15 etc.

I find it fascinating that there are words in American English that originated in Britain that the Brits don't currently use

Here in my little township we have 4 and very soon to be 5 gas stations in less than a mile. It’s insane especially when one considers the push toward electric cars by the big automakers.

01:46 Garage is used here to describe automobile repair businesses as well, which typically accompany gas stations. But taking your car to the garage means it's broken, not low on fuel.

Thanks for another informative video! A great installment for those of us with plans to visit the otherside of the pond!

Lawrence, I could listen to you literally talk about anything.

One job I had during my college days was as a gas station attendant in Laramie, WY. Laramie sits on Interstate 80, 45 miles (75 km) west of Cheyenne. From there, I-80 runs about 100 miles to the next city of Rawlins. There is no gas between Laramie and Cheyenne. My station was the first stop off of the first exit from the interstate (if you were headed west), and at least once a month I'd have a customer who managed to get as far as the summit before running out of fuel, and then coasted downhill for the last 8-10 miles.

It was crazy to hear that the U.S. has 1 gas station every 33 square miles. I did some quick math, and if you don't count Alaska, that number goes down to about 1/18mi². I know there are people and gas stations in Alaska lol. But Alaska is so sparsely populated that I believe it skews the numbers. Even at 1/18mi², that is a great reminder that most of this vast country is rural. I live in a city where there are gas stations everywhere, sometimes two or three at one intersection lol.

I don't think I've ever gone back to sit in my car while the gas is pumping, but I use the time waiting to squeegee my windows.

Excellent material! Thank so much for the comparisons. 🙌🏽

Laurence: I really like your videos on many different topics. Keep up the good work!

I’m so glad you came into our lives. Lol Please don’t get angry with me Brits but you guys really misunderstand how and why we do many things as Americans and it leads to a gross characterization of our behaviors and the way that we live. It’s great that we have a Brit namely Lawrence that lives here and can make some things understood about life in America.

I worked at a full-service gas station for years in the 1990s, and I've never heard the term "hold open clip" before! I think we just called it a handle clip or handle lock.

Having used the 'hold open clip' regularly in the US - I remember being home in Ireland once and finding one on a petrol handle in Dublin - my sister was very surprised when I set the pump going and then sat back into the car to wait - I think the thing was small enough on the handle that nobody knew what it was or how to use it. I think this is part of the reason why I almost always fill the tank up all the way when I fuel up. It's just easier to set the clip and then it stops itself when the tank is full.

Speaking of your videos being lost in the pond… I feel that RU-vid hasn’t been showing me your videos in my video feed 😢 even though I’ve been subscribed for so long! I thought to myself “where has Lawrence been!?” I guess you have been here the whole time, now I just have to manually find your channel/videos.

Paying at the pump is actually very common, maybe the older stations don't have it but you can even pay by app now at Shell 😃 🇬🇧

I was visting England on holiday in 1993. We were traveling from London down to Brighton and then out to Lands End. We were in some little town along the way when the car needed to be refueled. I stopped and asked a group of people, who happened to be outside, where I might find a gas station. They all looked at me with a quizzical look and in fact one of them said "a gas station?". I repeated "yes, a gas station", enthusiastically pointing back at the car. In my mind I knew there was some kind of communication breakdown, but I couldn't figure out what it was. Suddenly out of some crevasse in my mind popped the word petrol. 😳.

Another thing we noticed when we were driving in Ireland a few years ago was the ratio of gasoline/petrol pumps to diesel pumps. A lot more diesel powered passenger vehicles are sold in the UK and Ireland than in the US. Another informative video! Thanks for posting.

Great episode Laurence !

We have the hold-open clip enabled here in Luxembourg, but you mustn't just walk away from it which I never understood until now, so thanks for that. I do miss it when I drive back to the UK.

1st time watcher and I found it very interesting. Thanks for doing the currency exchange, was very helpful.

Anybody else wonder why we keep calling it unleaded 35 years or so after it was no longer possible to buy leaded gas at a regular gas station in most parts of the country? Inertia, I guess. BTW, I really like your dry, humorous narrative! You get a new subscriber.

Adding to your comment about the pumps. In the UK unless you pay by card at the pump , you pay after filling up. In the US you pay before pumping. In the UK when you lift the nozzle the pump tells the person at the till you are ready to start pumping. In the US you have to manually lift the lever on the pump.

Brilliant amusing as always Lawrence.

My petrol station story is in regard to the inconvenient location of the closest station to Heathrow Airport for refueling a rental car. As a Yank, I was completely flummoxed by driving from the wrong side of a car on the wrong side of the road. I returned my rental car to the airport without refueling and was glad to pay the exorbitant refueling service charge so I didn't have to drive another foot on the wrong side of the road. The rental office refused to accept the car without a full tank. After unsuccessfully arguing that I couldn't find a fueling location, I set out to get diesel. (The rental car was a diesel powered Audi.) As I recall, I found the petrol station without much distress but returning to the airport was a nightmare of taking the wrong exit of two roundabouts multiple times (roundabouts didn't exist in my area of the USA at that time and rotate in the other direction now). By the time I got back to Heathrow, I was ready to slice open an artery and be done with my misery. I didn't miss my flight but I vowed to never drive a vehicle if I returned to England.

Now I’m not able to drive, I found it fascinating. What I would’ve liked to also hear, is that American gas stations are also known as junk food palaces. And I would’ve liked to of heard a little bit more about that from the UK perspective. Example, I think it was you or somebody else that talked about how pharmacies in the UK do not have snacks or any kind of food at all. Here in the United States, the pharmacy holds everything but the kitchen sink.

When I was a kid in the 60s, gas stations were called “service stations”. They checked your oil automatically, and washed your windows, checked the air in your tires, checked your water level in your radiator, as well as and filling your tank with gasoline. If you were really lucky you would earn points to get free glass tumblers or crappy flatware for your eating pleasure! Here in Oregon they at least still pump your gas for you.

Petrol, short for petroleum is an inclusive term to the portion of crude oil that will be refined into gasoline, diesel, kerosene, etc. So brits are more correct to call it a petrol station but Americans, Canadians and the Kiwi's, are more correct to call the stuff they put in their vehicle gasoline (or diesel as we do).

Not being able to pay at the pump is becoming rarer in the UK. All supermarket "filling stations" (35% of stations) have pay at the pump and some exclusively so. The other independent stations still have some that are exclusively pay at the kiosk but each passing year it is becoming less and less so. Also the UK like several other West European nations has a shortage of heavy goods vehicle drivers, but does actually have enough gasoline truck drivers who hold an additional qualification to deliver fuel.The fuel shortages are totally because of panic buying, after media scaremongering, when about a dozen filling stations were reported low on fuel due to missed deliveries because a few drivers were quarantining with positive covid tests. Once the panic buying started no amount of deliveries could keep up with the demand. Fortunately there is a limit to how many gallons of fuel drivers can store in their cars ( unlike the panic buying of toilet rolls over a year ago) so the crisis is already starting to come to an end.

When i was a kid in the US, gas stations were frequently referred to as filling stations and you didn't pump your own gas. An attendant pumped your gas, checked your oil and cleaned your windshield (windscreen). Air and water were free and there were several air/water hoses, not just one like it is today.

I am in Australia. Just about every car I have had has been dual fuel. That is Petrol tank and LPG (autogas) tank. So when I fill up, I use either petrol (unleaded) or gas (LPG). Alot of the older LPG nozzles also had the hold open function as it was slower to fill and the nozzle could get cold from the temperature of the gas pumping. 1 of the problems of filling up LPG was dependent on either where the tank was on your vehicle (in boot versus under car) as well as if service station had above ground versus below ground LPG storage tanks. On hot summer afternoons - there were occasions I could not fill up a empty LPG tank as either the LPG tank on car was hot enough the air in the empty tank had expanded not allowing LPG to enter it, or the storage tank itself was lower pressure than the car tank. My current car has a 65 litre Petrol tank and a 70 litre LPG tank. Both full adds alot of weight to the back of the car - especially the solid metal LPG tank in a protective 'bathtub' that sits behind the rear diff but in front of the rear bumper. Dangerous ? HELL YES - But I accept that risk. It does however add alot more strain to the rear suspension and can even drag over steep driveways so a smart owner would have had the rear suspension upgraded to take the extra weight. Thank You.

I love that you are able to make a living off of this.

Hi Lawrence, I live in New Zealand. We know what you are talking about when you refer to petrol as gasoline, but it is seldom called gas in this country. The place where you go to buy it is called a Petrol Station or Garage as in Britain. Our pumps are also coded the same way that they are in Britain, but we also have the little hold open leavers you described for the US.

The best part about US gas stations: Gas Station TV! And even better if you get one that lets you choose the channel to watch while you don’t pump using the clip!

Here in New Zealand we also mostly call it petrol, although we sometimes refer to Gas Stations rather than petrol stations. We also sometimes call them service stations or servos for short. We don't really use the term gasoline at all.

To me, the biggest perk to US gas stations is the bucket of soapy water and a window squeegee. It's the little things.

Lawrence, you never disappoint.

In the US, when I was growing up, we used the term "filling station" interchangeably with "gas station." They were mostly full-service stations. You pulled up to the pump, a uniformed attendant came out to greet you, you said "Fill 'er up" and sat relaxed while the attendant filled your tank, checked under the hood (bonnet) -- oil, etc. -- and then cleaned your windshield (windscreen). You also went there periodically to have your car "serviced" -- oil change, lube, tire rotation, etc. I've only ever visited one English petrol station (somewhere between London and Oxford), decades ago; it seemed much the same to me, down to and including the clean toilets (which in the old days in the US were occasionally advertised by a sign saying CLEAN REST ROOMS).

In Montana and Wyoming most every gas station is 100 miles from the next one! my stepmother had a 1978 Ford Ltd with an enormous "police" V8 from when she lived in Wyoming. It had the factory equipped 25 gallon gas tank as well as after market 20 gallon saddle tanks on both sides of the trunk! It's rumored that 100 miles could on occasion be less than a one hour trip!:-) 🖖

There used to be "garages" all over the US too. A garage, also known as a service station, was a gas station that also did auto repairs. When not repairing cars the employees pumped gas. Then by and large and outside certain states the biggies in the industry decided to switch to the self-serve business model. The garages shut down because they didn't make enough money to have paid staff on hand just in case someone needed auto repair.

Gas stations in the US used to have a "Full Service" line up until the early 1990's where an attendant would pump your gas, check your oil level, clean your windows, and check your tire pressure. They all went away as minimum wage rose. In Oregon your still not allowed to pump your own gas but the attendants don't do anything other than that.

In some US states (especially in the Northeast) the "hold open clip" was removed some time ago (probably due to the fires), though I've noticed it's making something of a comeback. Of course you see people just stick the fuel cap in the handle to keep it open. Also, the color of the pump handles varies considerably among different brands, and different grades may use different colors if separate nozzles are used.

I grew up in the early 1970s...many gas stations were "full service". An attendant would greet you and you'd tell them "Five bucks, please" or "Filler up". Your car would then get it's windshield cleaned, oil checked, washer fluid topped off, tires checked, and sometimes lights checked (and more stuff done, I don't remember everyhing). If anything was amiss, many were also "service stations"...they could do just about anything. If you didn't want full service, you had to get out of your car and go inside to pay.

one thing is also the size of the holding tanks for fuel. In most states the underground tanks are 10k US Gall (45400L) with 4 tanks per location white in the UK they a reusually no large than 4500 US gal ( 22000L)

New York State, among others, prohibits the use of hold open clips. Annoying in the winter.

In the UK, while counter transactions do happen, many larger supermarket fuel stations also have pay at pump. I don't know if its still the same but when I went to Florida (hired a car) and went to fill it up, I couldn't get the pump to start. It wasn't until a man came over and showed me how that I thought the USA was real quaint! Of course, in the UK all you do is pull the nozzle off the pump stand and it starts the pump motor running ready for the fuel to be dispensed.

Another great vid, Laurence!

Great video as always. Being from Michigan, I used to frequent Ontario pre pandemic. Canada too uses the Imperial gallon and sells gas by the litre. Currently gas in Windsor, Ontario is $1.35 litre, x 3.78541 = $5.11 Canadian for a US gallon.

One time when I was driving from Northern Illinois to the Grand Canyon, I encountered a biker along the way. We inadvertently traveled “together” for a few hundred miles and when we both stopped at a gas station in a really isolated area, I was just going to get some caffeine and move on. (My car still had about a half a tank.) He kindly said to me, “Just so you know, the next gas station along this stretch isn’t for about 150 miles. You might want to top off your tank.” I was like 🤯 👍🏻❤️

Thanks for clearing up my questions about the colors of the BP nozzles. I rarely go to a BP station, but on the occasional times I do, I have been so annoyed that I was at the wrong pump and almost put diesel in my gas car. Now that I know the back story, I won't make that mistake again.

In the UK leaded petrol was red and you could buy red jerry cans for when you ran out and fill up by the side of the road. When they introduced unleaded fuel (which was "better for the environment" and therefore "greener") they introduced green cans. I can't remember when they colour-coded the filling nozzles.

For those pumps that have removed the hold open clip, you can use the gas cap wedged inside the handle if your car has a cap and it's not tethered.

Very interesting. When I started driving gas was 20 cents a gallon. Thanks for sharing.

I assume the number of petrol stations per square mile in the UK will drastically change if one deducts the ones from London…. As for somebody who studied in the UK and worked in London: Love your channel and your accent. I hope to visit Montana in 2022, can’t wait to see its beauty. Cheers from Hamburg 🇩🇪

Great video, Laurence. Don't think I we didn't notice your Alan Partridge impressions sir! I live in the UK so having purchased an American RV in LA, the first petrol fill was confusing, as having to prepay in the shop, the cashier asked how much I would like to prepay. I had no idea how much it would take or how much it would cost so I had to let them guess. So weird. Also, in the UK, I like to fit split pins to the trigger so I can make use of the lock-on catch.

While I was watching this, I was thinking I'd like to see the same kind of videos, only from the perspective of a Brit in Australia, or New Zealand, or Canada. Enjoy seeing how different cultures have developed, especially when the dominate culture derived hundreds of years ago from British who colonized new areas of the world.

The shell station round corner has the hold open clips i always go there /luv the clip !!(ontario canada )

Paying at pump is more common in the UK these days, especially at larger filling stations or supermarkets filling stations.

Correction - New Zealand like Australia DOES NOT refer petrol as gasoline (Australian slang for service station is servo - just a thought) Australia and New Zealand also use "hands free" clip!

Even though Puerto Rico is a US territory, they use the metric system.

Here in the US gas stations were also referred to as “service stations,” presumably because an attendant would come out and pump the gas for you. Also, here in the people’s republic of California, we pay a ridiculous amount in taxes for fuel, and almost no one takes public transit. (Unless you’re under age or in poverty.)

Thank you for another interesting and sell made episode!!!!!

When I moved to the US state of Pennsylvania from another one in the mid-1980s, I discovered to my chagrin that the thingy that lets me fill up my tank without holding the pump was not allowed there. But it was finally legalized, and it's rare that I come across one that's lacking it. I think this thingy dates back to the days when all gas pumps were "full serve" so that attendants could serve multiple customers at once.

A more pertinent metric to use for gas/petrol station availability/density would be to use city/suburban/exurban population areas, discounting rural counties. At that rate, the availability of fuel would be roughly equivalent. Remember, Britain is roughly the size and shape of California, so it lacks the rural areas that the US has.

Lawrence, I'm hoping you can explain a UK petrol station encounter I had... Do UK petrol stations not have water and squeegees (or some other method) for cleaning windscreens? I made the mistake of parking under a tree at my hotel in Malvern and the birds made a mess... The wipers only just succeeded in smearing it and so we stopped at a local petrol station to clean it off. Not only did we not find anything to do so, when we asked the lady behind the counter looked at us like we had 3 heads. I think she eventually did find us some water and a cloth, but we stopped at a Poundland to pick up some window cleaner and paper towels. Was this an anomoly with this particular station? Is it uncommon to have windscreen cleaning tools? If so, how does one clean their windscreen when they're out driving and there's a bigger mess than the wipers can handle?

Hold open clips were banned for a while when self-serve first started to become common. There were key fobs available that would do the job of the clip to get around the ban. The ban was eventually lifted.

Pre pay pumps are very common in the UK now Laurence. Also during the shortage, garages were scalping drivers in London with prices as high as £2.93 per litre.