Why the mad dash to fill every available pump, causing you to maneuver around cars in such a small space, can cause an accident if you’re not paying attention.
New Jersey resident and Tik Tok User Ray Lopez, who goes by @RayLopez295, shared shocking dashcam footage from a Clifton Costo earlier last week (Aug 9., 2024) showing a driver in an Audi SUV not paying attention and getting sandwiched between a Honda Odyssey driver trying to pull into the pump in front of them and the pump itself.
The accident caused the pump to fall onto the car on the other side, resulting in chaos as Costco employees dashed to prevent a possible emergency from getting out of control.
Check out the dashcam footage below. (Just in case that video’s down, there’s a mirror linked here.)
@raylopez295 ♬ original sound – Ray Lopez
As mentioned, the incident happened at the Costco in Clifton, NJ (Exact location on Google Maps linked here.)
As the dashcam video shows, Lopez stops and waits for a car in front of them to finish getting gas at this Costco Gas Station in Clifton (NJ is the only state where you can’t pump your own gas btw.)
On the left, we see a driver in a White Honda Odyssey go through the middle lane to pull into the pump in front of a driver in a black Audi SUV finishing getting gas.
The driver in the Audi SUV pulls forward just as the Odyssey is next to them.
Both drivers aren’t fully paying attention and neither notices they’re both moving at the same time.
They both collide, the Audi SUV sandwiching itself between the turning Honda and the gas pump.
The collision causes the gas pump to fall on the car next to it on the right.
In a mad dash to contain a potential fire, Costco employees run to hit the emergency shut-off pump for the entire station.
The Mom in the Odyssey can be seen running away from the scene with her daughters, just in case of a fire.
Thankfully, no fire broke out, the only damage happened to the vehicles and the pump itself.
It seems commenters were evenly split on what they do at their Costco gas station, whether to wait until both cars are finished before pulling up or to maneuver around other vehicles into open pumps in front.
“This is why I don’t go around and wait for that second car to move then move all the way up,” @JennInDesert commented.
“I always wait for the person at the second pump to finish if there’s no car in front because then it throws everything off. I’ve noticed a lot of other people also do this!” @Jmse99 concurred.
“They actually make you pull around at our Costco, it’s the same in Europe, keeps things moving and folks not in lines for 3 weeks,” @ItsNotMeItsYou replied.
“They are allowed to use the center lane to pull up to available pumps. I do inspections of the fuel system at Sam’s Clubs and other stations. Traffic gets hectic at these stations,” said @DeadCanDance.
While waiting until both vehicles are done seems safer, it’s, as others have mentioned, not realistic, especially in busy gas stations.
Regardless of which method you use, it would behoove you to pay extra attention maneuvering in and out of gas stations.
The risks of getting into an accident only go up when cars are bunched up like this.
