A new prepay law in BC.....

[keeper_of_souls13]

I'm not sure where to post this, but I felt this was worth announcing.

As of Feb. 1, motorists in B.C. will be required to prepay at gas stations regardless of the time of day.

The new provincewide law means drivers will have to pull out a credit or debit card at the pump, or pay an attendant before filling up.

"It doesn't mean that you can't pay cash, you can still of course go in and pay cash and then fill up," Chevron Canada spokesperson Deidre Reid said Thursday.

"The industry as well as WorkSafe B.C. have been working together. And this is in light of the terrible tragedy with Grant De Patie, so it's actually called De Patie's Law."

The 24-year-old De Patie, while on shift at an Esso station in Maple Ridge, was dragged 7 1/2 kilometres to his death in March of 2005 while trying to stop a driver from stealing $12.30 worth of gas.

"We've been working together to find solutions on how we can do everything that we can do to ensure that our attendants, our customers, everyone is safe in a transaction," Reid said.

Aside from the safety factor, De Patie's law will also prevent people from filling up and driving away without paying.

"Fortunately it's a rare thing," Reid said. "It's that small criminal element that does something like that. This law is intended to just ensure that we're doing everything we can to ensure that our attendants are as safe as they can be. We've got all kinds of safety training in place and risk assessments and everything, but a lot of times you have attendants working at our stations and they're younger and so forth, and without thinking they may do something that may put themselves in jeopardy.

"This law is intended to try and help address that."


source :
http://www.canada.com/theprovince/ne...6-a1982cbc7f53

[Becks]

I, for one, think that prepaying is a good thing. Makes things easier (for the most part) for the gas station attendants.*

*Of course, that doesn't include the initial bitching they'll have to listen to after it goes into effect...

[wagegoth]

I think it's good that it's a law. You can direct the customers to bitch at the government. They'll still bitch at the checker, but you can tell them, "Hey, it's the law." And, then laugh!

[texasbelle5]

It's been pre-pay only where I live for years now. My only question is why has it taken so long to have changed the laws in other places? Such a simple solution.

[crazylegs]

We get a huge amount of bilking in the UK, with petrol well over the £1 a liter mark its not too suprising, watch this space.

[CaroPhoenix]

I pre-pay wherever I go. I have the little key tag thingee for Exxon/Mobil. I love it! i don't have to deal with people at all! Go me!

[yizuman]

I pre-pay wherever I go. I have the little key tag thingee for Exxon/Mobil. I love it! i don't have to deal with people at all! Go me!

I hear those things are not a good idea as there are portable scanners out there that can scan those key thingy from a distance. Some expert decryption software can decrypt the keys and extract their personal information.

Then they can either use it for personal gain or sell it to the highest bidder.

Yiz

[Naaman]

I hear those things are not a good idea as there are portable scanners out there that can scan those key thingy from a distance. Some expert decryption software can decrypt the keys and extract their personal information.

Then they can either use it for personal gain or sell it to the highest bidder.

Yiz

Smells of urban myth....

Most RFID tags are very short range, the longer range stuff cost more and would require a power source or require progressively larger scanners. Judging by the size of them (from this picture) I'd guesstimate the range to be 5-10cm max.

The encryption on them has been cracked so it's theoretically possible that someone could scan your pockets (you could fit an RFID reader into a handbag) and clone it, but all things considered it's probably very safe at your local gas station.

[Geek King]

Smells of urban myth....

Most RFID tags are very short range, the longer range stuff cost more and would require a power source or require progressively larger scanners. Judging by the size of them (from this picture) I'd guesstimate the range to be 5-10cm max.

The encryption on them has been cracked so it's theoretically possible that someone could scan your pockets (you could fit an RFID reader into a handbag) and clone it, but all things considered it's probably very safe at your local gas station.

The Mythbusters managed to remotely grab info off an RFID by planting a reciever/transmitter near the place it would be used most often, and it was very small. They planted it on the person with the tag they wanted to scan, but I imagine you could set it up at a Point Of Sale like a gas station pump fairly simply.

Not out to cause paranoia, just throwing out some facts.

[Naaman]

Not denying there's cause for concern (and that sounds like a fun Mythbusters) but I read the "there are portable scanners out there that can scan those key thingy from a distance" "they can pull your details from across the forecourt!" as opposed to the accurate warning "Keep an eye out for strange devices by the checkout"

If I over reacted, apologies to Yizuman

[Primer]

but why do I keep reading the thread title as "A new preppy law in BC....."

[VenomX]

I wish this was a law in the States.

Just tonight at work I had a lady try and get me. I asked her how much and she said twentythirtyfortyfive. I was like.. huh? $45? and she said no $25. Now if i hadnt heard all of it I would have pumped $45 and then had to argue to get the other $20.

[Dorath]

I used to get jackasses that wanted to fill up but only give me 5 or 10 dollars. Of course they had to complain when the pump cut off at 5 or 10 dollars.