‘The Dutch come to fill jerry cans with fuel in Belgium’

Refueling across the border to save money is something of all times. It is simply the case that our eastern and southern neighbors are cheaper for fuel. The difference sometimes pays off enough to drive for it even if you don’t live close to the border. However, the trip to a German or Belgian gas station must be sufficiently rewarding and there are now apparently more and more Dutch people who have a solution not to have to go up and down every once in a while. Some would return home with a ‘trunk full of filled jerry cans’.

That reports Tubantia based on statements by municipal councilors in Essen, a village just south of Roosendaal. The mayor of Essen is not against it, but does repeat the rules that apply to this. “Everyone is allowed – if it is for private use – to fill a 60-litre jerry can. That has to be done in a jerry can that can be closed perfectly.” There will undoubtedly be people who go over that 60 liters to have to go up and down less often. According to the mayor, they are not going to run into the light for the time being: “We are not going to place a policeman in the area day in and day out who keeps an eye on how many jerry cans are put in the trunk. It should not be a witch hunt.”

Here and there it does lead to somewhat chaotic scenes, when people are standing in line. For example, there are sometimes cars waiting on the bike path or on the sidewalk and fines have been handed out for this in some cases. The municipality of Essen does not want to actively have the police posted for the time being, but says it will keep an eye on the situation. Additional signage or possible human coordination at the gas stations is also being looked at to ensure that everything runs smoothly.

At the time of writing, a liter of Euro 95 costs an average of €1,782 in Belgium, in the Netherlands the Average National MSRP for Euro 95 (E10) is currently €2,107.