It seems as though highway robbery has moved on since the days of Dick Turpin and his bunch of noble thieves. Now the trendy little highwayman's mask has been replaced by Arais, AGVs and Shoeis if you believe the petrol companies!
Gone are the cheery smiles from the petrol attendant and free access to the unleaded pump. Now we have to smile for the camera while reading a notice telling us we must have the means to pay for the fuel before helping ourselves.
And just in case we didn’t get the message, another camera clocks our registration number in case we forget to pay on the way out.
I do have a small axe to grind over this contentious issue. The idea of bikers in general being treated like potential criminals by the very people that depend on our business is unfriendly and at times plain rude! But why is this happening? It’s not good business to upset your customers… So I approached the major suppliers to get their response.
As I expected, the likes of Shell and Esso have Public Relations departments who deal with such issues, although only Shell delivered a written response as promised. Further insight came from an oil industry insider, who didn’t want to be identified.
Two main reasons appear why petrol stations have become jittery about bikers not removing their helmets before filling up.
The main concern is increasing crime on our forecourts; from people driving off without paying, through to armed robbery at the tills. Piltdown Service Station on the A272, for example, has been robbed three times in the past year!
I am assured that it’s not just bikers being treated with caution. Petrol station staff is instructed that anyone hiding their face with a hat, hoodie or helmet may be asked to identify themselves. I wonder if this also applies to the burka? To be fair, discretion is often used by staff and location makes a difference. Low crime areas will tend to be more relaxed about a middle aged biker filling up a blinged up 1250GS without taking off their helmet.
The other reason is less plausible, but sadly again a sign of our times. Petrol companies are legally obliged to refuse petrol to anyone under sixteen. So, anyone that could remotely be considered a spotty youth must be identified and turned away unless they can prove their age. Why? As a society, have we really come to the point where we don’t trust a large chunk of our population and do not expect them to behave responsibly? Does selling a litre of unleaded to a fifteen year old imply that they will then commit a crime with it?
Travelling near the Tunisia / Libyan border last year it was a common sight to see kids selling petrol from plastic bottles by the roadside – okay, a bit extreme but I didn’t see houses ablaze or Molotov cocktails being chucked at policemen!
On the positive side to this matter, the suppliers do recognize our concerns and are trying to help. Here are a few points which will make life a little easier when filling up.
Look for a pump nearest to the kiosk and make eye contact with the attendant.
Get off your bike first, they shouldn’t let you fill up when sitting on the bike anyway – Elf n Safety, innit!
If you often use the same place, exchange a few friendly words with the staff, they will remember you and not insist on helmet removal in future. Look for the increasing number of “pay at pump” machines. They’re not bothered about you keeping your lid on… Although this scuppers their under sixteen argument…
I have to admit that a small minority of bikers have made things worse for us all by displaying antisocial behaviour when asked to remove their helmet, or riding off without paying – and motorcycle helmets have been used in armed robberies. To counter this growing trend of mistrust, spare a thought for the forecourt staff and put yourself in their position. Would you give someone twenty quids worth of your finest if they were behaving suspiciously?
A straw poll was taken at random service stations across the south by our crack undercover research team. We asked the attendants two questions each. Have they been trained to ask motorcyclists to remove their helmets before activating their pump and do they require bikers to remove their helmets before serving them?
Morrisons - Staff have been told to ask bikers to remove their lids both before activating the pumps and paying. However they don’t bother with either.
Shell - Attendant was unaware of any instructions to remove helmets before serving but they prefer to serve bikers who have taken their lids off.
Total - Again, no specific guidelines given. They wouldn’t ask a rider to remove their helmet but most do.
BP - They have been instructed to ask bikers to remove helmets before activating the pumps but generally don’t bother. Also they don’t insist on helmet removal before payment.
Texaco - No instructions as to helmet removal. However the majority of riders oblige anyway!
I want to go faster, I want to go faster..
