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So are Europeans just more honest and ethical than Americans? Or do all gas stations have better theft prevention systems? In the US, there is often 1 cashier managing 12 pumps AND ringing up vice sales (cigarettes, lottery tickets, junk food). In some states there a pumps with no human on site at all.
What's to stop someone from driving off after filling up in the EU?
In the UK, petrol stations almost always have CCTV monitoring pumps, and can use number plates to identify anyone who leaves without paying. Probably similar in the EU I would think.
That said, it's also increasingly common to have a pay at the pump system, where you have to use your credit/debit card before you can fill up, with the amount being taken off automatically based on how much fuel you used.
How did it work before automated monitoring?
What's to stop someone driving cross-country or even just for a 1-off fill up and wearing a hat and glasses and covering their plates with cardboard and tape right before coming and going?
E: someone else in the thread mentioned an attendant will make sure they can see people's faces before starting the pump
In all EU countries I drove trough, the pump doesn't auto-start when you unhook the nozzle from the pump. I think the cashier has to manually allow it to start, from their control system/computer.
So I suspect they glance at clients through the shop's window/cameras, and they don't start the pump if you look shady (hooded, no plates on vehicle) and they suspect you may run it off.
For example if you ride a motorbike, the cashier sometimes doesn't start the pump until you remove your helmet / uncover your face (allowing cameras to see your face).
And yes, after filling-up you then need to go pay at the desk. There can be a waiting line if there are more pumps than open cashdesks.
You could easily tank then gun it. But there are cameras everywhere. They have your face & plates.
For these we need to swipe a payment method before the pump starts. It locks a sum on your card, say 200EUR, and when you hook the nozzle back it adjusts the payment transaction to only the amount consumed and debits you.
Probably a combination of better theft deterance, and peoples expectations for convenience. In NZ there's a mix of some stations that let you fill before paying, and some that don't. When some stations first started operating on the pay first model it felt really inconvenient and annoying, so I guess it's also a way to compete with other stations apart from price. Some stations will probably eat the cost of theft if it results in better sales.
Also probably that there's other types of crime that are more popular in Europe. Maybe because registering a vehicle is more of a hassle in many countries there than in many states in the USA? So criminals are less inclined to do crimes that will get thier vehicle wanted from cctv footage, unless they can easily steal some plates from another vehicle.