When I passed my driving test in July, I celebrated like any journalist would: by writing about it. I had just flown through my exam after a six-month whirlwind that involved sacking three driving instructors and an investigation by Essex Police. The former, a result of the Wild West that is learning to drive in London. The latter, a result of my dad’s enthusiasm for speed.
I felt like saying something, because driving test waiting times remain at crisis levels and it seems like there is no end in sight. Sure enough, after publishing my article and sharing it on the Reddit r/LearnerDriverUK, I had a number of people in my inbox telling me how relatable my experiences had been. One guy even asked if he could have the details of my favourite instructor.
In writing the article, with half an eye on the ludicrous waiting times (around six months in some areas), I tried to end the piece with a silver lining about how long waits would increase practising hours, and therefore safety. “Maybe this generation of drivers will be the safest we have ever seen,” I wrote. After an unfortunate experience on a drive to Manchester last week, I can confirm this closing sentence has not aged well.
It happened as I was pulling off the A556 onto the M56 eastbound. I had just come off a large roundabout and was gathering speed pretty quickly with all 168 supercharged horsepower of my 20-year-old Mini Cooper S.
Things were going well on this journey. The passenger window was not stuck in the down position, an unhelpful idiosyncrasy that emerged only an hour into my last long-haul drive from North Yorkshire to London. The brake lights were also not stuck in the on position, as had happened a couple of times while the car was parked.
As my foot nuzzled the accelerator pedal – and my Admiral black box glared at me from behind the rear view mirror – suddenly, and unexpectedly, the power just died. There I was in third (my favourite gear), rolling down the slip road with diminishing momentum, seconds after reading a sign that said the hard shoulder was about to disappear.
Aware the situation could quickly become life-threatening, I pulled over and thanked the heavens this had not happened in the third lane at 70mph. Then I was rapidly out the car, up the hill, and on the phone to AA. I was so frightened of being hit by a lorry I stood near some sheep and decided it was too unsafe to return to the car and switch the hazards on.
Thanks to AA breakdown cover, which I cannot recommend enough, they had a man in a van with me in less than an hour, along with the comforting glow of his flashing orange lights. Once he had my keys it took him only a few seconds to diagnose the issue. I had run out of petrol.
‘You are lucky you weren’t fined’
I am pretty sure the fuel gauge was at half around an hour before I ran out. Though supercharged engines are notoriously thirsty, emptying half a tank in that time would only be possible due to a leak, and the car did not have one. My conclusion, based on a very one-sided recollection of events, is that an electrical fault messed up the needle and tricked me into a false sense of security. Try telling that to the ‘seen it all, heard it all’ AA man though.
“I’m sure you hear this a lot,” I said to him, “But I swear the fuel gauge was at half, and then suddenly it was empty.” Holding his iPad and a jerry can of spare petrol, the AA man gave me a big smile and, with plenty of grace, warned me about the consequences of repeating such an almighty mistake. “You are lucky you weren’t fined by police,” he told me, “Don’t let it happen again.”
My mistake cost me £7.50 in AA petrol and a whole lot of embarrassment, but it could have been much worse.
Rule 97 of The Highway Code states: Before setting off, you SHOULD ensure: that you have sufficient fuel for your journey, especially if it includes motorway driving. In 2022, AA reported attending more than 10,500 breakdowns where members had run out of fuel, many of them on fast-moving roads.
Whilst running out of fuel is not illegal in itself, under current legislation, drivers can be fined a minimum of £100 and three penalty points if their car obstructs the road because of an avoidable breakdown. If you cause an accident or drive dangerously as a result of an empty tank, you could be hit with a £5,000 fine and nine penalty points.
Given that you only need six points to lose your licence in the first two years of passing, this would have been ‘and on that bombshell, it’s time to end’ for me.
When I looked into the stats on this, I was slightly reassured I am not the only idiot who has done this. According to research by breakdown provider Green Flag, one in seven drivers ran out of fuel in the year to September 2024, with a similar amount risking it to avoid paying for a more expensive petrol station. An older survey by the RAC found one in five drivers have run out at least once.
Range anxiety is meant to be something for electric vehicle drivers to worry about, which makes me, and running out of petrol, look even more stupid. Rather than a full and frank admission that will land me in the dock at Manchester Magistrates Court, I am hoping this piece will work as a bit of public awareness for the one in seven morons (like me) who somehow passed their test.
In light of that, here are a few tips from yours truly:
- Fill the tank up
- Don’t ignore your fuel gauge
- If you think the fuel gauge is broken, get it checked and fixed
- Keep a small jerry can in the boot just in case
- Get breakdown cover
- Get the train
I hope this has been helpful. If you are a new driver or learning in London, I would also be keen to hear your horror stories. Get in touch with me using the details below…
Got a tip, a court date, or some gossip? Please email [email protected] or WhatsApp 07580255582.
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