The number of Canterbury motorists left stranded with empty tanks has grown by nearly 30 per cent as petrol prices cause drivers to run close to empty.

The Automobile Association answered 425 calls to deliver fuel to stricken motorists between January and the end of last month, an increase of 28% compared with the same period last year. Nationally, the figure rose by nearly 8%.

 

AA technical services general manager Stella Stocks said people were putting their safety and the condition of their car at risk by not filling up.

 

"If you were to run out on the Harbour Bridge in rush hour you could have someone go into the back of you. There's also the inconvenience factor because you have to get someone to bring petrol out to you," she said.

 

It could also damage cars if fuel was at a consistently low level.

 

"It's a very false economy and in some cases you actually increase your costs," Stocks said.

 

When the AA is called out to fill up cars it charges for the price of the petrol it supplies.

 

AA spokesman Simon Lambourne urged people not to let the fuel needle drop too far.

 

"While we understand that filling up with higher petrol prices is hurting people's wallets, it is a false economy not to do so," he said.

 

Kerry Briggs, the owner of Briggs Auto Service in Somerfield, Christchurch, said driving on a low tank could damage cars.

 

"The lower you run your petrol the more damage you are doing to the tank," he said.

 

"It lets the pump run dry and that will do some damage to it."

 

Some of the pumps depended on petrol as a lubricant and it was possible low levels could cause a spark and lead to an explosion.

 

"The brushes within the pump can spark. It's a very long shot, but there have been instances when it's happened," he said.

 

Replacing a fuel pump could cost between $200 and $2000.

 

Briggs said it was more economical to fill the tank as less petrol was vaporised.

 

"The fact is you are using the petrol anyway. You would be better filling up the tank than going every time and just putting $20 in," Briggs said.

 

Peter Butcher, manager of Warren Auto Electrical Ltd in Linwood, said he had seen people run out of fuel more often in recent months.

 

Butcher questioned whether it was more economical to fill up.

 

"I think it's probably more expensive because there's more weight," he said.

 

Riccarton motorist Karen Northcott said she took advantage of fuel dockets on offer at supermarkets to try to fill her tank when she could.

 

"I put in $20 yesterday just so I could make it (to the petrol station) today and use my fuel dockets to fill it right up," she said.

 

Hairdresser Abbey Cox, 23, of Shirley, said she often ran her car on a low tank.

 

"Usually I just put in about $30. I know that's really bad for it," she said.