Motorists ought to use service stations and not truck stops, where they are better served according to Z Energy and BP.
DIESELtalk asked the two fuel retailers for a response to the Automobile Associations call yesterday for better signage to prevent motorists misfuelling their vehicles with Diesel Emission Fuel (DEF) at truck stops.
Both fuel retailers, Z Energy, and BP New Zealand told DIESELtalk that service stations are designed for motorists, rather than truck stops, where they are better catered for.
“I should point out that Z is not one of the truck stop operators that have been asked to improve their signage,” says Z Energy senior communications advisor Sheena Thomas.
“We have obvious warning signs in place, including when customers lift the Z DEC nozzle, and engineering controls in place which prevent dispensing of Z DEC,” says Thomas.
“People have to be very determined and repeatedly keep pumping the nozzle despite it feeling very wrong to get any meaningful amount of Z DEC to dispense,” she says.
“In addition to all this, people also need to have a Z-Card (which is only a B2B offer) that’s specifically set up to purchase Z DEC in order to be able to dispense any at all. So people can’t even buy it unless you know what it is,” says Thomas.
“Regarding why motorists shouldn’t use truck stops, the key thing is that service stations are specifically built and tailored to meet the needs of smaller vehicles, and truck stops are designed for trucks and large vehicles,” she says.
“Most truck stops have high pressured diesel pumps which aren’t suitable for smaller vehicles, and they are unmanned, so there’s not someone readily available on site to answer any questions or give advice,” says Thomas.
“BP truck stops are designed to help larger trucking customers, and commercial fleets refuel quickly and safely while our retail forecourts are designed for smaller vehicles,” says BP New Zealand communications and external affairs manager Shelley Brady.
“Some our truckstops have high flow diesel pumps. The nozzles on these pumps are wider and larger than regular diesel nozzles. Some our truck stops also offer AdBlue,” she says.
“The AdBlue pump sits separately to the diesel pump at our truck stops, and it is clearly marked along with warning labels,” says Brady.
“There is also a magnetic nozzle on the AdBlue pump that is designed to prevent customers from incorrectly putting AdBlue into a fuel tank,” she says.
