If they can't afford gas they shouldn't be driving. Mechanical breakdowns can happen to anyone. Running our of gas because you'd rather spend your money on something else is just plain poor planning. OTO if you're planning on getting gas at the next exit and the construction has you idling for an hour in a traffic jam then it really isn't your fault. And the fact that they;re running out in a construction zone indicates to me that maybe that's what is happening.
One thing that really irritates me is the construction sign that say "Expect delays." Why should we expect delays? About half of us pay a fortune to the government for its so-called "services" and the best they can do is tell us to "expect delays."
Here in the Atl metro area we have "HERO" trucks that will assist stranded motorists including giving them a gallon of gas if the run out. A lot of people have been running our just to get the free gallon. They should get a ticket.
I agree with you both that if you can’t afford proper maintenance, then you shouldn’t be driving in the first place. However, we all know that’s never the case.
Case in point: my younger brother drives around a truck that is literally ready to fall apart. There are a handful of cotter pins holding nuts on bolts that have since worn down to nothing.
Proper vehicle maintenance is like raising a child: there’s no right way to do it as long as you do it, but there are myriad wrong ways to do it.