The saying 'just when you think something is idiot proof they invent a new idiot ' was proven again this week when a man set fire to his car after using a cigarette lighter to see while filling it with a jerry can . In the early hours of Sunday morning a man from Sunshine in Victoria ran out of fuel about one kilometre east of Ararat on the Western Highway . He went on foot to a local petrol station to get a jerry can but could not see what he was doing when he returned to the car . Cars have gone up in flames for a variety of reasons , but setting one on fire because the person was using a cigarette lighter to see while filling it with a jerry can has to be the worst one yet . ABC reports that Acting Inspector Brendan Broadbent said the man lost all common sense when trying to find a solution to the problem . ‘ Because there was no light he 's actually , in the process of pouring fuel into his vehicle , he 's used his lighter to light up the area so he could see , ’ he said . Police said the man abandoned common sense in the search for a solution to filling his car with the jerry can in the dark . ‘ Subsequently the fumes have ignited and the vehicle 's caught on fire. ’ The rear of the car was burnt but Acting Inspector Broadbent said the man was lucky to escape without injury . ‘ That could have been far worse . ’
A man from Sunshine in Victoria ran out of fuel on the Western Highway . He went on foot to a local service station to get a jerry can of petrol . It was dark so he used the cigarette lighter to see what he was doing . The rear of the car was burnt but the man escaped without injury .