Those free plastic gloves are no reason not to give diesel pump nozzles a clean, says motoring editor Andy Russell.

It was one of those days when if things could go wrong they would and one thing just led to another.

The day started badly when I was late leaving home and I was going to be running even further behind because I was running low on fuel so, seeing plenty of pumps free on the forecourt, I nipped into a filling station.

In my haste I forgot to put on one of those plastic gloves to keep my hand clean and soon realised my mistake when it was too late and the dirty diesel filler nozzle was already in my hand.

Despite wiping it with a paper towel, my hand – and the inside of the car – stank of diesel.

It got me wondering if filling stations ever clean the pump handles because some times they seem to be worse than others.

And, on separate note, a plea from a motorcycling colleague for drivers not to overfill the tank, trying getting as much diesel in as possible, as it can cause the excess to leak out, especially when going round corners.

Firstly, it is just wasteful and not good for the environment and, secondly, it is particularly hazardous for motorcyclists.

This colleague was taking a turn, fortunately at low speed, so the bike was not upright when the front wheel found a patch of diesel on the damp road. The wheel just slid away and he ended up on the road with the bike lying on his leg.

He got off lightly – a few bruises to him and some scrapes to his bike – but it could have been a lot worse.

Do you hate dirty diesel pumps or have had an accident as a result of diesel on the road? If so, let me know – email motoring@archant.co.uk