Ivanova Ksenia One of the largest countries in the world — the United States of America — is most convenient to get acquainted with, following the example of the writers Ilya Ilf and Evgeny Petrov, from the windows of a car. True, before the trip it would be useful to find out if the American automotive infrastructure will present any surprises to the traveler. “Subtleties” know exactly what they will present. At least in terms of gas stations, which in the United States differ from those that motorists are used to seeing in Russia. Perhaps the main difference is that American gas stations in the United States are ubiquitous of self-service. No one, as in Russia, rushes to a car that has barely stopped to insert a pistol into the tank and press the desired button on the column: the driver does everything himself. Moreover, in most cases, he even pays not at the checkout, but with the help of a terminal built into the gas station. Inserted the card, inserted the gun, poured gasoline, took the card: all by myself. You can also pay in cash – at the checkout, if it is open, or through the terminal. This is even more profitable, because when you insert it, a mandatory 1 USD is charged from the card in addition to the actual fuel fee. In addition, when you pay by card, you need to enter a postal code, and who remembers it? You can, of course, dial a random combination of numbers (sometimes they do), but sometimes an excessively smart speaker does not accept such a random number and blocks payment by card. And you have to stomp at the checkout. 
By the way, fuel in the USA is measured not in liters, but in gallons (1 US gallon = 3.8 liters). Those who are used to filling not a full tank, but a certain number of liters, at first have a hard time with this arithmetic – as well as with American miles. By the way, gasoline itself is called fuel, gasoline and even gas. Moreover, for all types of gasoline, there is one gun at the dispenser, and not different ones, as in Russia. Only for gas, the gun is separate, so it is impossible to confuse it with “gasoline”. The octane numbers of gasoline also need to be dealt with. American 87th gasoline corresponds to Russian 92nd, 89th to 95th, 92nd and 93rd to our 98th. At the same time, the quality of fuel will be equally high either at an ultra-modern gas station in downtown Los Angeles or at a simple station in the wilds of Idaho. So no need to try your best to reach the big city.
What else to read on the topic
- 7 habits Americans who seem strange and incomprehensible to us
- 10 features of our mentality that seem strange to Americans
- Americans always shout: the most annoying tourists according to locals
But gas prices can vary by half across the country: fuel is especially expensive at gas stations in national parks. However, in terms of the dispersion of gasoline prices across the country, America and Russia are rather similar.
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