You drove and pulled up to the gas station to fill your gas tank. You exited your vehicle, opened your gas tank cover, grabbed and put the dispenser nozzle in. You also had to pay at some point.
How can you forget that the hose is still connected to your car when you drive off?
In the US and other countries you can lock the noozle and fill up without holding the hoze. In EU you need to hold the hoze to fill up or press a button when you need LPG. It’s pretty hard to forget something when you’re standing next to it. (And still some people manage to do just that)
In the EU the nozzle handle also has a lock-in mechanism. But it looks like the main difference is that in the EU we can’t pay until the nozzle is placed back on the support. That’s what stops the pumping. Until then you’re still paying.
Now I wonder what stops people from just driving off without paying. Is there a camera or something?
Yeah cameras, but also pay at pump systems that preauthorise a card payment then dispense the fuel, then charge whatever it cost (after the pump is placed back in the holder).
Most gas station I’ve been to in the USA remove the little metal plate that allows the trigger lock to catch, so exactly this doesn’t happen. You have to keep your hand on the handle the entire time or it stops pumping.