Hot on the heels of my recent post on the number of drivers who fill up diesel vehicles with petrol each year and have to be rescued by the RAC, the good people at DDN Ltd have got in touch to let me know that they have come up with a solution to this problem.

The problem, you’ll remember, comes about because the filler neck of diesel vehicles is larger than that of petrol vehicles – meaning that a petrol nozzle will slip in just as easily as a diesel nozzle.

It’s a problem that seems to be growing, too – in 2007 50,000 RAC members and 20,000 Green Flag members alone managed to fill up with the wrong fuel. Leaving safety and environmental issues from the disposal of the fuel aside, misfuelling has a huge financial impact. Just ask anyone who has had to have their diesel vehicle repaired after running it on petrol…

DDN’s solution seems simple. Named the Misfuelling Prevention Device, it’s essentially a cleverly-designed sleeve that fits inside your existing filler neck. Once in place, any attempt to insert a petrol nozzle will be blocked – only diesel nozzles will fit in.

Fitting seems extremely simple and once in place, no further maintenance or adjustment is required. DDN say that it should last the lifetime of the vehicle.

The MPD costs around £50+VAT for fleets and most popular makes and models are or will be supported. The device has been successfully trialled with a variety of fleet operators – including one police force. For more news, see DDN’s website. I’m not sure that it’s available for retail customers yet.

I would imagine that van hire companies could become enthusiastic customers for such a product – anyone driving a rental van who usually drives a petrol car must be a prime candidate for misfuelling. Still, it’s a problem that can affect anyone – as this RAC employee found out! (Although in fairness it is a windscreen fitter’s van, not a breakdown van.)

(All pictures courtesy of DDN Limited.)