whats it about?
it seems to be accepted by the people that cell phones can cause petrol fumes to ignite. but is there any scientific basis to that?

i remember seeing in a programme called 'mythbusters' and they asked the same question.
they did all they could to ignite the petrol fumes but could not.

their conclusions were:

1. cell phones work on radio waves and radio waves cannot ignite fuel.
2. the body of the phones cannot hold much static to create a discharge.
3. most of the fuel station fires are caused by static discharge into the pump nozzle. the static is built in the clothes of the driver as he slides out of the seat.

since the drivers in india dont actually handle the filling nozzle, the risk is negligible.

now the next question has to be; have there been any proven cell phone fires on petrol stations anywhere in the world?
has the number of fires at petrol stations reduced after the ban?
and who decided on the ban of cell phones on petrol stations and on what basis?

the ban is not really a big inconvenience and i would follow gladly if i can see a reason for it. but it really p1sses me off to follow rules formed on the basis of myths and paranoia.

cheers