It was an eye opener experience for her Les. Letting the tank run low and then trying to beat the warning light just isn't a good plan. (Like you, I don't go under half a tank. "Top up, don't fill up" is my SOP in a number of things.)

I'm surprised that the average gas station doesn't seem to sell gas cans or flashlights. I can see why they wouldn't loan them but not having one or two to sell seems odd to me. I guess they may presume that the average driver is either perepared to fix things themselves or call someone to do it for them.